


Gale

by Graykip



Category: Naruto
Genre: Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Anbu Uchiha Itachi, Anbu Yamato | Tenzou, Before The Storm, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fight Scenes, Fluff and Angst, Friendly Itachi, Friendly Kakashi, Mocking, Mother Hen Shiranui Genma, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sad, Shisui still dies(sorry), Slight OOC, Slightly OP Main Character, Tags Are Hard, Teasing, Thunder and Lightning, hospital visits almost everyday
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2019-10-20 05:05:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 36,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17616044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Graykip/pseuds/Graykip
Summary: Hayato Harukaze is a powerful child, a prodigy. On par with the Uchiha's genius, Itachi. The two become fast friends when they're put on the same team under Kakashi Hatake. Things seem simple for the boy, just the way he likes it until he decides to adopt a child, just because. It all gets stranger from there.{This story is originally from Wattpad under the same name and author}[Some OOC characters and timeline is slightly messed up, I'm trying, calm down]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AAAAA I wrote stuff. Maybe you'll like it, thanks for showing up though.

The breeze flowed gently through his dark brown hair as he lay there in the field of grass. Close by, Hayato noticed someone sit down beside him. When he looked over, there sat the current Uchiha heir, or as he prefers, his best friend. The said man's piercing black eyes stared at the trees while his long bangs would move with each gentle wind that passed. 

His friend, Itachi Uchiha, was never the loudest person in the room, but he certainly was the quietest and only spoke when necessary.

Suddenly he spoke up, "my kaasan made me a bento today. Would you like to eat with me?"

"Sure thing, let me go grab it from my locker." He quickly stood up and disappeared in a swirl of visible wind.

At the ANBU building, Hayato went straight towards the team locker area and opened his respective locker, and pulled out a bento box with white wrapping and black strands in the shape of a cloud.

Closing the locker and vanishing from sight once more, he reappeared in the same field he was previously in. Spotting the head of black hair, Hayato took a seat and began to unravel the knot that held his lunch box safe from falling out. 

The two ate in a peaceful silence until Hayato broke it with a question, "So how's Sasuke doing?"

"Like usual, grinning and obsessed with training with me." The Uchiha said with a small smile, barely noticeable but was still picked up on. It was odd for Itachi to speak with such emotion, it was reserved only for when speaking of his younger brother, Sasuke, or on certain occasions with his sole friend.

"When will he start in the academy?" Hayato asked, trying to keep Itachi smiling and passionate.

"He already has, but he wants to graduate early like I did, he finds it boring." He chuckled. However, he was interrupted by a couple footsteps belonging to Kakashi with no dog mask, Hayato's team leader, and friend for the length of his time in the ANBU.

"It's time for training you two, finish up your meal and we'll get started." The man with gravity-defying platinum hair told the two teens. A mask covered his mouth and nose.

The two nodded their head and packed up their lunch. Then stood up and followed their captain to the training ground.

* * *

When they arrived, the whole Team Ro was there, staring with agitated expressions. 

"You're late!" They chorused. Kakashi didn't care but Itachi mumbled an apology and Hayato scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. 

"I was getting these two, they forgot about our session." The leader told them. The two teens that were referred bowed their heads in apology. 

"Anyways... Let's get started." Kakashi commanded. A chorus of  _Hai_  soon followed by everyone. 

* * *

The wind from Hayato blew around the entirety of the training ground, turning it from its previous worn down green color, to a dirty brown color. The trees surrounding the area were covered in cuts from the sharp wind, while the members of Team Ro laid on the ground, panting and covered with small cuts. 

"How... do you... do... that?" Tenzo said in between pants, being hardly able to dodge every single gust of dangerous wind, all launched by the 15-year-old.

"I told you already, it's my kekkei genkai." Hayato stated as a matter of fact, clearly unamused by having to repeat himself constantly to his teammates.

"Not that part, pretty sure he meant being able to keep going continuously." Kakashi had told him. 

"Ah. Well, my kekkei genkai allows more air to be stored in my lungs, which allows can keep me going for longer periods of time than most people." The team was surprised at the revelation. A mere teen had the ability to, if not already surpassed the majority of adults present. 

_'Well Lord Hokage was certainly right when he said special...'_ Kakashi thought.  _'He reminds me of someone.'_

"Welp, let's stop training for now. Everyone is too worn out to keep up." The leader told them. Before Hayato could walk up to Itachi, who was only covered in a few cuts, Kakashi stopped him. 

"Hey Hayato, do you and Itachi want to get some food with me? On me." The silver-haired male offered. 

"I'm up for it, I'll ask him." He replied and went to see the Onyx head boy. "Itachi. Wanna go get some food with me and Kakashi?" He asked him.

"Sure, though I'll need to see my parents first. If you want, you can come." Itachi told him. 

"Might as well, your parents should know your protector." Hayato joked with him. Earning a pout from Itachi.

"Not funny, I am perfectly capable of protecting myself." He countered. Earning a big grin from the wind user,

"I know. I know, I'm just joking with you. I know how capable you are for your age." He chuckled. "Now let's head to the compound."

* * *

 

The Uchiha compound was booming, businesses on each side of the street, people all out and about. Yet, the sole reason was because of their distance from the center of the village.

"Try to keep up 'old man'." The youngest one of two said. Which quickly angered the other teen, who replied with a  _HEY!_ followed by,

"I'm only two years older than you!" Hayato screamed. Earning him confusing looks from civilians passing by the arguing pair. Until they realized it was the heir to the clan, who was actually smiling. Something they haven't seen from the adolescent.

" _I know. I know, I'm just joking with you._ " Itachi said in a mocking tone while chuckling.

"Wow. The only time you laugh is at me. Uncool man." Hayato replied defeatedly while mumbling the last part.

The pair continued onwards through the compound until they reached a large home surrounded by walls with the famous red and white fans plastered within certain distances of each other. On the inside, they saw a figure of a man on his knees with a cup of tea, along with a woman, to which Hayato could only assume is Itachi's parents.

Suddenly a small figure jumped out of the home and onto Hayato's friend, all the while screaming nii _-san!_ "Okaeri!"

"Konnichiwa Sasuke. How was school today?" Itachi asked, excited to know the answer but he didn't want to show it.

"It was easy, we learned how to throw shuriken, even I already knew how to," Sasuke claimed, proud of himself for his achievement.

"Woah wait a moment! He's like six-years-old! He's know how to already?!" Hayato exclaimed, surprised that a tiny child like Sasuke could throw shuriken already. 

Sasuke gave him a puzzled look before asking, "who are you? Trying to steal my nii-san?!" Sasuke fumed, obviously not understanding what was going on.

"Ochitsuku Sasuke-kun, I'm Itachi's partner in the ANBU. My name is Hayato, it's nice to meet you." He said extending his hand. Hesitantly, Sasuke reached out and shook it before calling for his parents.

Hearing their youngest's calls, the two figures that Hayato saw, stood up and opened the sliding door to see their other son, but saw him with someone new. Of course, confusing them.

They walked over to the trio and asked, "who may you be?"

"My name is Hayato Harukaze, and I'm a member of the same team as your son," Hayato replied with a polite air around him.

Itachi's mother leaned over to Fugaku, his father and whispered something along the lines of  _friend_  and  _at last._ The mom was practically sparkling after saying that.

"Well it's nice to meet you, I'm Itachi's mother Mikoto." Itachi's mom told the teen.

While the father followed his wife's idea and introduced himself, "my name is Fugaku, head of the Uchiha Police Force.". Each word that left his mouth involving his work was filled with pride.

"It's an honor to meet the chief of the Police Force." Hayato bowed deeply.

"Head up Harukaze-san, I was a friend of your father Riku, good man. Tell him I said hello."

**A/N: Riku means "Wise Sky"(thanks internet).**

"Of course" Hayato replied.

"Now why are you visiting the compound? The people don't exactly have tolerance for those other than Uchiha here." Fugaku told him in a commanding tone.

"Otousan, I was planning on asking if I could eat with Hayato and my team leader? He offered to pay for us." Itachi cut in, leaving Hayato surprised for defending him.

"I suppose it's alright, as long you're back on time for the clan meeting later tonight," Fugaku told him.

With a nod of the head and a goodbye, the two left the compound.

_With Sasuke(woah pov change)_

"I didn't get to ask him to train..." the child pouted to his parents.

"Don't worry Sasuke, I could teach you some jutsu." His father offered with a smile.

"Of course!" He shouted excitedly. His mood completely uplifted.

* * *

_With Hayato_

"Your brother is cute, but a little possessive for my tastes." Hayato chuckled slightly. Itachi sighed.

"He's always been like that, I know he wants to get stronger, but I won't always be available," Itachi said. 

"He'll have to learn on his own eventually." Hayato also sighed. Then clapped his hands together.

"Now we're almost at the restaurant." Hayato pointed out with a change of mood. 

"Where are we eating?" Itachi asked. A huge grin got plastered on the wind-user's face.

"A dango place!" He shouted excitedly, Itachi's ears perked up at the mention of the restaurant, nearly letting out his excitement but managing to contain it.

"Cool." He replied calmly, trying his best not to let out any excitement and to contain his composure.

"You can't hide your excitement from me Itachi, I know you love sweets." Hayato pointed out, giggling a little bit.

"Fine. I'm very excited." Itachi said, a little embarrassed.

At the end of the street, the two saw the gravity-defying hair of their captain.

"There he is!" Hayato exclaimed and started to bolt down the street to reach him. Itachi deadpanned but followed suit at a faster pace than his walking.

* * *

 

_With Kakashi_

Kakashi leaned up against a pole by the dango place, a place where his other "friends" would often be and would invite him to, yet he would always decline. So why would he come here? He didn't know himself, but he instinctively came here after offering to buy them dinner, which was already odd for him. Him being friendly when he was previously known as " _Cold-Blooded Kakashi_ ". Maybe it was just a coincidence, or maybe, just maybe, he  _wanted_  to make friends, to move on from  _Obito_ , from  _Rin_... 

Before he could continue his deep thoughts, he was snapped out of it by the sound of feet running towards him at high speed, picking up a large dust cloud. It was Hayato, the youngest member of Team Ro, only beaten out by Itachi. To who he couldn't see if he came with him due to the rising dust cloud.

"Kakashi!!!" Hayato screamed, slowly rising in amplitude.

"Yo!" Kakashi said, raising one hand with a waving gesture.

"Where's Itachi?" The silver-head asked the 15-year-old.

Hayato deadpanned, before replying, "Somewhere back there..."

Just then Itachi came through the smoke in what looks like a jog.

_'Stange...'_ Kakashi thought.

"Anyways... Let's head inside." He told the two.

He started to walk with the two teens following close behind.

"The two have been in ANBU for a little while now, so how have you been enjoying it so far?" Kakashi questioned.

"I'm enjoying the missions, even if they involve killing. That's just how shinobi live, so I'm used to it." Hayato stated with a hint of guilt lingered in his voice at the mention of killing.

While Itachi was different, he said, "I do what I need to do for the Village." Not a single hint of guilt or regret was present.

_"That's some fierce loyalty he has, he's a good shinobi to have. I'm glad we have him on our side, even if he could loosen up a little bit."_ Kakashi thought with a smile.

"It's good to see you guys settle in well." He gave them a genuine closed eye smile.

* * *

On the outside of the restaurant, Kurenai and Asuma, a Chuunin and a Jonin, were walking by. They were about to stop for a bite at their group's restaurant when they saw an unfamiliar sight. Kakashi Hatake, cold and mean, was laughing and smiling at these two people, both wearing ANBU uniforms.

_'They're so young...'_  Kurenai thought.

"Kakashi's smiling..." Kurenai said, astonished.

"Isn't that Riku's kid? and Itachi Uchiha?" Asuma pointed out to the woman.

"Yeah, you're right. That is them." She agreed.

"How did they get him to smile? That's practically impossible to do." Asuma said, also dumbfounded by the current situation.

"Can you hear what they're talking about?" The crimson-eyed woman asked.

Asuma leaned in, hearing bits and pieces of their conversation.

"Something about dogs..." Asuma said. "I swear if the answer to getting him to smile was dog jokes..." He facepalmed.

Back with the trio, they were unaware of the two observers outside the restaurant and kept going on with their conversation. 

"How easy is it to take care of a summon? I might try to find my own." Hayato asked the adult of the three.

"I've had Pakkun for a while now and I haven't really taken care of him so-" Kakashi was cut off before he could finish.

"Wow, you're a terrible summoner." Hayato pointed out quickly, only to be smacked on the head by Kakashi. Hayato gave an  _itai_.

"As I was saying, he grew up and lived with the other ninken so I haven't had the need to take care of him." Kakashi finished. 

"Maybe I should find a bird or something..." Hayato muttered, completely ignoring what Kakashi was saying. Itachi, who hasn't spoken much, laughed at his friend's oversight. Earning the two a smack on the head again.

"Jeez, listen, I'm trying to help you with summons." Kakashi scolded. 

"Try going to the mountains near the village, there should a flock of different birds, just depends on which you want." He told the teen while standing up and putting some money on the table.

"I'm gonna head home, ja ne!" He said waving goodbye to them.

"I might as well go too, want me to walk you home?" Hayato asked Itachi, who shook his head in reply.

"No thank you, I'll be alright on my own." He replied standing up with his friend and walking out of the restaurant.

"See you tomorrow Itachi!" Hayato waved, Itachi nodded and the two went their separate ways into the cool night.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Hayato was walking the street of the now quiet Konoha when he heard faint voices coming from an alleyway. When he came closer, he heard insults and curses.

"Demon!" and "Monster!" were the main sayings, all coming from what looked like civilians. Each of them was beating him, a poor boy no older than six-years-old, with their bare fists and blunt objects. Until one raised a kunai with a sly smile on his face.

"Time to finish what Lord Fourth started." He said, about to strike the poor boy. That's when Hayato decided to step in and stop him, catching the man's wrist, twisting it and forcing him to drop the weapon.

"What the hell!" The man screamed while holding his wrist in pain.

"I should be asking you monsters that," Hayato said, venom dripping like a waterfall with each word.

"Why would you protect that demon?!" A woman in her thirties interrogated.

"All I see is a child. Now if you don't leave, I'll be forced to end you under the orders of Lord Hokage." Hayato informed them of their potential fate that awaits them with a glare.

The group of adults saw this and shuddered, before running off in fear. The man sighed before turning to look at the boy on the ground, covered in bruises, yet somehow, were already healing. Leaving a petrified little boy.

"Please don't hurt me..." He stuttered. Hayato shook his head and picked him up.

"I don't plan on hurting you. Now, what's your name?" He asked with a smile.

"Naruto. Thanks for helping me, but they'll come back eventually." Naruto said sadly.

"Then I'll protect you," Hayato promised. "They won't hurt you when I'm around, even if it means I have to kill them."  

"Don't kill them please," Naruto said.

"Fine..." Hayato muttered. "C'mon, I'll take you to my home. You need to sleep."

"Alright!" Naruto said, very loudly.

"Lower your voice a little, people are asleep." Hayato scolded. Naruto apologized quickly.

* * *

Naruto woke up the next morning with a note next to his bed.

'Naruto

Sorry for not being there when you wake up, I need to sort through some details with Lord Hokage. You'll be excited to know the details when I get home.

Hayato Harukaze'

When he finished the letter, he heard the door open to reveal his savior from the night before.

"Hey kiddo, I got some papers I need you to read," He told him.

When he looked at the sheet, he saw the word "ADOPTION", followed Hayato smooth signature, along with Jiji's signature. Tears filled his eyes and poured down his face like a waterfall. He jumped onto Hayato screaming a dozen  _arigato's._

"So is that a yes?" Hayato asked. Naruto nodded excitedly.

"Then I'll take this to the Hokage and it'll be official. It's nice to meet you Naruto Uzumaki-Harukaze." Hayato gave him a genuine smile.

"Also I signed you up for the academy." He informed the boy. "You start tomorrow." 

"Arigato!" Naruto exclaimed.

The two had gone to see Lord Third and informed him of the decision. 

"Are you sure you can take care of a child Hayato? You're only fifteen, plus you're in ANBU. Will you have the time?" He questioned seriously.

"I knew what I was getting into when I signed that sheet Hokage-sama." He replied, also in a serious tone. The old man lightened up a little.

"Very well then, I wish you luck with your child. Naruto." He said, turning to the child. "Don't give him too much trouble, alright?"

"I won't Jiji," Naruto said, pretending to be offended.

With a bow, the two walked out of the room and down the stairs of the Hokage Building, then into the streets.

"Do you want to get some food Naruto?" Hayato asked the blonde.

"Ramen!" He replied instantly, a bright grin on his face.

"Ichiraku here we come!" Hayato pumped his fist in the air, Naruto did the same.

* * *

Kakashi was walking down the street heading towards the memorial stone with his hands in his pockets.

' _I miss you two..._ ' He thought sadly until his thoughts were cut off by two loud cheers, one of which he recognized as his teammate and supposed "friend", along with another kid. Yet he didn't know who he was, he looked nothing like the former. He had pointy blond hair and green goggles around his forehead where the typical ninja band would be. The strangest part, however, was that he looked like  _him_. So he decided to talk to him.

"Hayato." He said, interrupting the loud cheers coming from the two boys.

"Who's the kid?" He asked, wanting to know an important detail.

"Meet Naruto," Hayato told him, gesturing towards the kid, who enthusiastically lifted his own arm and pointed at himself with his thumb.

"The name's Naruto, I'm gonna be the next Hokage!" He practically screamed, even though he was right next to Kakashi, Hayato was seemingly unaffected by the yelling.

"And?" He asked again, looking back at Hayato.

"He's my kiddo." He stated happily. Kakashi gave him a confused look.

"What?" Kakashi questioned. 

"Exactly that. I found him alone outside one day and helped him, I couldn't leave stuck as an orphan." Hayato said sadly. 

"Do you even know how to take care of a kid?" Kakashi's parental was starting to show.

"If my dad could take care of me, then it shouldn't too bad." He shrugged. Kakashi facepalmed.

"What about when you go on missions? Who'll take care of him?" Kakashi interrogated.

"Hokage-sama promised that he and his wife would watch over him when I'm on duty," Hayato answered.

Kakashi sighed, "Good luck I suppose, by the way, we have a meeting at 3 pm at the Training Grounds. Ja ne!" He waved goodbye.

Naruto looked at him leave and then at his new dad, "he's weird."

"Yep, but he's like a father figure to me, so he gets worried about my wellbeing," Hayato told him softly.

"What did he mean by 'mission'? What's that?" Naruto asked.

"I do work for the village as a ninja, the academy I enrolled you in teaches kids to become a ninja." He informed his child on his profession, the simple truth, without the gruesome details. 

"That's so cool!" He exclaimed, "I wanna be one too!"

"That's why you're going to the academy," Hayato explained. "Now let's get some food!"

They pumped their fists in the air again and continued down the street.

* * *

_knock. knock._

Hiruzen answered the knock with a  _come in._

Then the people he recently saw entered, Hayato Harukaze, a high-ranking ANBU member, and the new Naruto Uzumaki-Harukaze. 

_'He seems so happy now... Aren't you glad Minato? Kushina?'_ He thought happily.

"Konnichiwa Hokage-sama, would be alright if you watched Naruto for a day? Team Ro has a mission along the border." Hayato asked politely.

"Of course," Hiruzen accepted.

"Arigato, now Naruto," he turned to the boy, "try not to cause too much trouble alright?"

"Okay!" He grinned in response, Hayato did the same and then lifted his fist. Naruto followed suit and they gave each other a fist bump.

_'They're so close already?'_  The Hokage thought.

"Ja ne! I'll be back by tomorrow latest! Good luck at the academy if I don't make it back on time!" He said while jumping out the window instead of using the door like a normal person. The Hokage sighed. 

* * *

Murmurs of the different members of Team Ro were overtaking the silence of the Grounds. "Is it true?" and "Seriously?" was heard many times when Hayato arrived. The whispering stopped when a seventeen-year-old member asked what was on everyone's mind.

"Did you actually adopt a kid?!" He screamed.

"Yeah," Hayato replied seriously. "His name is Naruto."

"Naruto as in the monster bo-" the member was cut by a harsh glare coming from the new father. 

"Don't you dare say he's a monster! He's a child!" he yelled, enraged by the harsh names given to his loved one. Itachi sympathized with him by giving him a gentle smile when he looked over.

Eventually, he calmed down when Kakashi arrived, late. The Captain knew why the teen was mad, he heard him lash into anyone who said anything about Naruto. 

"Alright let's started." The captain began.

Their mission was simple, eliminate the hostiles lurking around the border of the Fire Country. An easy in-and-out type mission.

* * *

By the border, they found a group of men, who looked like rogues, sitting by a campfire.

_'They can't be any higher than B-Rank Rogues'_ Hayato thought.

He looked at his captain with a "Can I handle it?" look, who nodded in return.

Quickly, balls of sharp, condensed wind flew through the air and straight into the men's necks by the campfire. The fire had been instantly put out and the men were killed, if not starting to bleeding out by the sudden attack.

One man saw Hayato with his mask, a small hump in the lower section representing a beak of a falcon, with sharp eye holes, filled with a deep, dark brown color.

"Assasin's Breath..." The man muttered before passing away from his wounds.

"Assasin's Breath, eh? I kinda like it." Hayato stated before checking all the corpses to make sure of their deaths.

Once they were done, they left the scene, not a single corpse remaining anywhere, nor a trace of blood. A clean and flawless elimination.

* * *

 

Nighttime approached and Team Ro had just returned to the village, sneaking past the unaware gate guards,  a clear security hazard. 

Hayato had split up from the team to pick up his kid from the Hokage Residence, a house unnecessarily large for an old man and wife.

Hayato knocked twice before the Hokage answered the door, still in his robe as if he was expecting him to come home early. He had faith in him and his team.

"Thank you so much for watching Naruto for me!" Hayato bowed almost 90 degrees.

"No problem Harukaze-san. He's a good kid." Hiruzen said while smiling. "Let me go fetch him."

The Hokage called for Naruto to come to the door, when he did, he saw his dad smiling at him. Naruto ran up to him and dove into his arms, giving him a hug.

"I missed you too kiddo," Hayato said softly. Soon enough, Naruto was asleep in his arms.

"I suppose I'll be on my way now, have a goodnight Hokage-sama and thanks again." He told the older man, who waved to him before closing the door slowly.

He entered his apartment, closing the door quietly in an effort to not the sleeping child in his arms. He laid him down on the bed and then went into the living room then plopped down on the couch. 

_'I should buy a second bed...'_  He thought before falling asleep.

* * *

The sun was rising over the horizon of the village, and peering straight into Hayato's window, much to his dismay. He groaned and stretched his arms in the air as he sat up on the couch, his back stiff from the poor sleeping place. He realized that he needed to wake up Naruto and get him ready for his first day in the academy. He walked into his old room, now occupied by his child, and shook him.

"Naruto wake up..." He said, yet Naruto didn't do as much as groan.

"Naruto." He said, louder. Yet still nothing. He gave up and screamed,

"Naruto!"

The once sleeping child shot out of bed and landed on the floor with an  _itai._ Naruto cursed under his breath and yawned.

"Why'd you wake me up otousan?" He asked rubbing the back of his head. "And did you have to yell?"

"The Academy starts in..." Hayato looked at the small clock on the wooden nightstand, it read 7:00 am, "an hour." He finished.

"We have so much time! We didn't have to get up so soon!" Naruto exclaimed. Hayato shook his head.

"It'll take more than half an hour to get ready and eat breakfast. So let's start getting ready." He stated.

Naruto did as he was told and shuffled into the washroom, Hayato heard the water turn on for a period of 10 minutes. Then when Naruto came out, Hayato had a small breakfast consisting of a bowl of rice and some miso soup **(A/N: Got this off the internet, thanks again technology)**.

The two sat down and both said  _Itadakimasu._ Quickly finishing their meals and putting on clothing. Naruto had a short sleeve beige shirt with an Uzumaki clan swirl and black long sleeve undershirt. While Hayato had a black long sleeve shirt with a small white cloud, which represented his clan, along with the Jounin vest on top. Hayato fished around for his headband and found it on the kitchen counter by the window, he grabbed it and tied it on the opposite arm that held his clan symbol.

They walked out the door and straight towards the academy. There they saw a man, tanned face with brown hair in the shape of a pineapple. Hayato recognized him as Iruka, Naruto teacher for the next few years.

"Welcome!" He greeted, "I'm Iruka, and you must be Hayato and Naruto."

"That's me," Hayato said, outstretching his hand. Iruka took it and shook it politely.

"Aren't you a little on the young side to be a guardian of a child?" He asked. 

"I'm more than capable enough to take care of a child. Now I want to know if you can protect him from the harassment I assume will come when I'm not around." His voice serious, Iruka face grew serious as well.

"I heard about you from Lord Hokage, I'll protect him as long as I'm around and alive," Iruka promised, Hayato grinned.

"Good to hear." He turned to Naruto who was shaking with, what Hayato hoped was excitement.

"Naruto, I want you to be a good boy for your teacher alright?" Hayato asked gently, Naruto nodded.

Iruka took Naruto's hand, leading him towards the classroom. The final words he heard from his dad were " _Good Luck._ "


	3. Chapter 3

_Naruto_

Naruto sat outside the classroom waiting to be called inside by the teacher, his finger was tapping against the floor in a beat he heard his dad hum the same morning.

"Can you come in now?" His teacher asked. Naruto sat up and walked inside the room, many looked at him with disgust and hatred. He just stood there, unfazed by the looks he was receiving. Uproars began but were quickly stopped by a yell from the teacher.

"Shut up! Sorry about that... Could you introduce yourself" Iruka asked softly, his anger from moments before completely gone. Naruto nodded his head.

"The name's Naruto Uzumaki! I'm gonna be the next Hokage!" He exclaimed excitedly, only to be met with many objections from the young class. Iruka sighed then shut them up again.

"Now then, let's learn about the history of Shinobi!" the teacher told the class, they groaned loudly. They knew it was gonna be a long day.

* * *

Hayato walked down the quiet road, the morning sun started to shine over the heads of the Hokage Rock. He had received a messenger falcon from the Hokage, Team Ro was to gather in the Hokage's office for a mission. Hayato was on his way to the Uchiha Compound to pick up Itachi. When he arrived, he saw the younger male coming out of the gates and waved to him. 

"Itachi!" Hayato called, waving his arms high above his head. Itachi nodded back to him.

"Morning, how'd you sleep after the mission?" He asked the teen.

"Fine, how about you?" He asked back.

"Great other than having to wake up at 6:30 am..." He groaned, Itachi chuckled. 

"You were the one who decided to take care of a kid." Itachi pointed out, Hayato sighed.

"Anyways, let's get moving." The two walked towards the Hokage Building, engaging in idle chitchat until Hayato spoke up.

"Do you think Naruto is in Sasuke's class?" Hayato wondered aloud.

"They are the same age so it's likely that they are." He answered. Hayato grinned.

"Oh, I can't wait for the complaints and arguing between them." 

Itachi noted to ask Sasuke about his new classmate when he came home from the mission. Hayato thought the same.

Soon enough, they arrived at the Hokage's office, where the old man had his back facing the doorway, and no other members of Team Ro were present.  The Hokage turned towards them with a serious look and spoke up,

"You two have impressed me greatly in terms of your efficiency and skills on missions. Therefore I would like to raise your ranks within the ANBU. There's a team that I would like you two to command, it's a small Assassination unit known as Team Yata." **(A/N: Yata is a shorter version of the crow god, "Yatagarasu". Crows represent Death)**

"Team Yata? The team that managed an assassination on that S-Class Rogue-nin awhile back?" Hayato questioned. Hiruzen nodded.

"They're waiting for you two to introduce yourselves at Training Ground 34. Good luck." The Hokage shoo'ed them out, telling them to meet the team. Outside the room, Kakashi was leaning against the opposite wall giving them a closed eye smile.

"It was nice having you two on Team Ro, we'll miss you," Kakashi said sincerely.

"Kakashi!" Hayato burst out in tears and hugged him, while Itachi stood there questioning his friend's reaction. Slowly joining in on the hug with a slight smile on his face.

Once they split, Kakashi told them, "come to the barbeque restaurant tonight, we'll have a celebratory and final dinner." The pair nodded and bowed their heads in respect to their captain for the final time. Kakashi walked down the stairs, one hand in his pocket while the other was waving goodbye. The pair stood there trying to regain their composure before leaving to Training Grounds 34.

The two walked in silence, the sound of Hayato sniffling after the final meeting with Kakashi and his goodbye. Itachi had slightly puffy eyes, which was unnatural to see on him. Eventually, they calmed down, needing to look professional in front of their new team.

As they approached the Training Grounds, the duo heard yells and laughs. 

"Urusai Daichi! That's not funny!"

"Come on it's hilarious! At least Kaito thinks it's funny."

"It's rude but I found it funny."

"See?!"

Hayato and Itachi stood there, watching the trio of goofballs bicker.

_'These guys are in an elite assassination unit?'_ The two thought.

Having enough of their argument, Hayato cleared his throat. The three members shot up and looked straight at them, and immediately bowed their heads.

"Sorry for being rude!" They chorused. Hayato shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. It's fine to have some fun." He grinned. The trio was relieved they didn't have an uptight captain.

"Let's do some introductions. I'm Hayato Harukaze, codename: Falcon. My friend here is Itachi Uchiha, codename: Weasel."

The three followed suit, introducing themselves.

"The name is Daichi, codename: Crab." Daichi was a seventeen year old, with red hair and vibrant colored eyes.

"My name is Kaito, codename: Wolf. It's nice to meet you." Hayato couldn't tell his age, but it must have been between sixteen and nineteen years old, he had piercing blue eyes and pitch black hair. 

"I'm Akane, codename: Peacock." Akane was the same age as Daichi, with crimson red eyes and beautiful silver hair.  _'She looks like Kakashi sort of'_

 Itachi sat and watched the three as they introduced themselves.

_'Daichi is the jokester here clearly, Kaito is the bridge and support between the other two and Akane is short-tempered.'_  He thought

"How'd you three get so close?" Hayato asked.

"We were all on the same Genin team a few years back, and we've been together ever since then," Kaito informed him.

"So the only problem is me and Itachi when it concerns our teamwork, other than that we should be ready to go on missions," Hayato said putting a finger on his chin.

"Let's do some training." The two new leaders said in unison, yet didn't spare a glance at one another. Almost like they expected this to happen.

_'How'd they do that?'_  The three thought bewildered.

In the field, the five people stood there ready to start.

"Alright, Itachi and I will fight each of you to learn how you fight and how we can help each other's weaknesses," Hayato told them. "Let's go with Itachi and Kaito first."

The two challengers walked towards the center and prepared for the fight. Hayato raised his arm and called the start of the battle.

In a second, Itachi cast a fireball jutsu straight but was quickly blocked by a mud wall that rose from the ground. Kaito muttered "Earth Style: Piercing Pillars", sharp stone spikes shot out from the wall and went straight towards Itachi who was forced to jump out of the way. His eyes were crimson red with spinning tomoes as he landed on the ground and started searching for Kaito's chakra signature. A small vibration rumbled underneath the Uchiha as a hand appeared grabbing his leg and pulling him into the ground.

_'Head-Hunter jutsu?'_

"I win, Captain," Kaito stated but Itachi shook his head.

"Look again," when he said those words, the terrain started the shift and Kaito appeared stuck in the ground where Itachi previously was.

"Genjutsu..." Kaito cursed under his breath. "Right from the start."

"That decides match one. The winner is Itachi." Hayato claimed. "Impressive work nonetheless, Kaito."

Kaito grumbled as he walked over to the spectator's spot and took a seat.

"Next up, let's do me and Akane" Akane grinned from ear to ear, looking ready to commit murder.

"I'm gonna murder you  _taichou,_ " she said in a mocking tone. Hayato smirked.

"We'll see  _little one,_ " he replied back. She grimaced at the nickname.

"Itachi, can you start the match for us?" he asked, Itachi nodded at him.

The two fighters stood ten meters apart from one another, one stood lazily yet in a perfect stance. While the other had her hand on a tanto and eyes peering straight into her enemy. Soon after, Itachi called for the start of the match. Akane jumped up immediately and cast a jutsu, "Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

Hayato stood there bored for a moment before performing his own hand signs in a fluid motion and extending his arms forwards with his fingers in a diamond shape, "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!" He screamed.

_'What!? There's no water around!'_  They all thought.

The two jutsus collided in a burst of steam and clouded the area, also causing Akane's shoulder length hair to blow in the wind. When Akane charged into the cloud with her blade unsheathed, she found no one on the other side, nor did she feel her enemy's chakra. 

_'Where is he?'_  She thought.

Slowly but surely, lightly shadowed patches began to appear on the ground once the steam cleared. Akane looked up and saw it, Hayato floating in the air surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds on spears. He looked at the wide-eyed girl with a smirk unvisible to anyone on the ground, then swung his arm down. All at once, the spears rained down upon the female ANBU, creating another cloud, this time, made of dust. When it cleared, Akane was out cold on the ground, covered in dozens of small cuts and giant bruise to the forehead.

_'He purposefully aimed around her and the only one that did hit her directly was in a blunt form.'_  Itachi thought, seemingly unaffected by Hayato's display of raw power. The others weren't unaffected like their other captain, their jaws were practically dropped to the floor.

"Incredible... What power..." Daichi muttered. Kaito nodded in agreement.

"Our new captains are certainly worthy of their title." He told him, getting up to aid the now unconscious Akane.

"Is she alright? I tried aiming around her instead of at her." Hayato asked. 

"Could have held back a lil' Taichou." Daichi told him, Hayato scratched his neck in embarrassment. "Hold back" was clearly not something he did often, Itachi knew this fact well enough.

"Sorry..." He muttered and began to heal Akane with the obligatory Medical Ninjutsu ANBU had to learn. He noted how peaceful she looked at she lay there on the ground.

Eventually, Akane came to, groaning as she attempted to stand, but only to be stopped by Hayato.

"Don't try to stand, you got a small head injury. You should be alright by the end of the day." He told her, she scowled a little before calming down. 

"Sorry..." She muttered but he heard. He looked at her perplexed because of her apology.

"For what? I injured you." He asked, still puzzled.

"For acting rude even though you're my superior." She bowed in apology, Hayato waved his hands in dismissal.

"Chill out a little, I don't care about formalities and status. I want you guys to be comfortable, so there's no need to act like you're around the Hokage at every moment. Loosen up a bit." He smiled at her, then looked at the rest of the team who had grins on their faces.

"Got it Taichou!" They bowed happily.

"Now let's do some more training!" He screamed, pumping his fist in the air excitedly.

"Daichi," Itachi spoke up unexpectedly, "can we do our sparring match?"

Daichi nodded enthusiastically and got into position. The Uchiha looked at Hayato who had his arm raised already and nodded at him, then when both were ready, he called the start of the match.

Quickly, Daichi pulled out a scroll with multiple seals being revealed the more he opened it. 

_'Those seals... Bukijutsu?'_  Hayato thought with a calculating gaze.

Now the entire scroll had been opened, and with it, a dozen different types of weaponry appeared in a poof of smoke. Itachi stood there awaiting his opponent's first move and to test their skills. Daichi however, had a serious look on his face, a contrast to moments before. 

"What happened to him?" Hayato asked Kaito curiously, who was watching the match intently. Hayato didn't understand the sudden mood change from their team jokester. Kaito looked at his captain before answering,

"He gets super serious on the battlefield, kind of like Kakashi. Well, at least the current Kakashi..." he stated, whispering the last part under his breath.

"I'm glad Kakashi's managed to lighten up a little, but that's not the subject at hand. Right now we need to focus on the match." Hayato refocused his attention on the battle instead of his previous Captain's "behavior".

Itachi had unsheathed his tanto with a tilt and blocked a strike from Daichi's naginata from the side, pushing him away. Itachi charged at a slightly disoriented Daichi, his form low to the ground with his tanto's edge facing behind him. Daichi panicked seeing how close he was and threw a kunai straight at him, only to be blocked with a quick slash from Itachi's blade. 

In a flash, the Uchiha prodigy had managed to pin Daichi tall figure to the ground with a disarm and a leg swipe, with a blade pointed straight at his throat. His Sharingan was blazing red as he stared straight into his opponent.

 "Alright Itachi, before you burn a hole through his head by just your looks, I'll stop this match. Itachi wins." Hayato told him point-blank. Itachi glared at his friend, who raised his hands in defense.

"Now, now, no need for the look Itachi." He told him carefully, shivering under his harsh glare. Itachi turned away and helped up his opponent, who was still under him. Daichi grabbed his hand and stood up, and immediately turned into a goofball again.

"Man! That was fun! Nice work Itachi-kun! Didn't expect that counter!" Daichi continued to ramble on about the match, they all just stood there staring at him. He didn't stop until someone  _told_  him to. That person was Akane, totally unamused by his babbling.

"Urusai! You're annoying as hell!" She screamed and gave him a smack on the head. He mumbled an  _itai_ and started to bicker with the woman, who proceeded to continue yelling at him. Hayato chuckled at their bantering and looked over at Itachi, who had a small smile on his face. Itachi looked back at him and the two captains shared a look before both turned and looked at the team in front of them.

'Right, this is our team, our family...' They both thought happily.

"Alrighty everyone, let's get some food to celebrate the start of our Team Yata! Itachi's paying!" Hayato exclaimed. Itachi glared at him again. Hayato shuddered before changing his idea, "nevermind! I'm paying!"

Itachi's look lightened up and the rest of the team gave a cheer, then proceeded to walk away from the Training Grounds.

_'It's hard to remember how this is an **Assassination**  Squad.'_ The two Captains recalled while looking at the joyful team in front of them.  _'At least they know how to enjoy themselves, they need to hold onto that humanity somehow...'_


	4. Chapter 4

"-then Tenzo fell down the stairs!" Daichi laughed and Hayato sighed. 

"Don't laugh at Tenzo, he's basically the mom of Team Ro." He scolded. Hayato truly did think that Tenzo was slightly overprotective of everyone on the team, even Itachi thought it, not that he would admit it though. 

"Calm down! It's just a harmless prank." Daichi told him. Hayato shook his head and told him, "one where Tanzo fell down the stairs, definitely harmless..."

"Cut me some slack, I had to lighten Kakashi's mood somehow. I didn't want to deal with a merciless killer in the ANBU building." Daichi retorted. "Don't say that!" Hayato scolded with furrowed brows and gritted teeth.

_'Woah, he's mad, not good...'_  The new team observed the argument escalate.

_'Daichi is screwed'_  Itachi thought, planning his teammate's funeral.

Hayato glared at him harshly and walked over to him. Daichi was shaking in place and sweat was running down his back, then got chopped onto the ground. He sat up scratching his head and Hayato stood there continuing to glare at him. He sighed before telling him, "Kakashi's changed you know? He's one of the calmest people I know and he vowed to never attack a comrade. On top of that, he was my Taichou, so show him the same respect you show me."

Daichi looked down guiltily and muttered an apology. 

"I'm gonna head home," Hayato told them all. "Itachi you coming?"

The man in question nodded his head and jogged over to him. The two turned their head and gave them a meeting time for the next day.

"Hayato?" Itachi grabbed his attention, Hayato turned towards him. "I want you to meet someone. Is that okay?"

"Sure thing, Naruto doesn't get out until later, so we can pick up the kids." He smiled. "So who is this person? You never do these sort of things."

"His name is Shisui," Itachi told him and Hayato's eyes widened. "You know the 'Shunshin no Shisui'?! Cool!" He was practically sparkling at the name. Itachi nodded. "I met him when I was at the academy, he taught me a lot of things, like the Quickdraw Shuriken technique"

Hayato beamed at meeting him, he never said anything about it, but Shisui's "Body Flicker Technique" was what inspired Hayato to learn a Technique similar to Shisui's using his wind.

When the two arrived at the meeting spot, Shisui was standing on a tree branch looking down at them. He waved them over and they did what he wanted and walked to him. Hayato was shaking with excitement, his idol was standing right in front of him. Shisui looked at him.

"You're Hayato Harukaze right?" He questioned, Hayato nodded. "It's nice to meet you. Itachi told me a lot about you." Itachi looked away slightly embarrassed, Hayato smiled a little.

"It's an honor,  _Shunshin no Shisui._ " Hayato bowed a little, Shisui shook his head. 

"Honor's all mine, your skills are impressive for your age." Hayato scratched the back of his neck. "How does your Technique work? Can you just control all forms of wind?" 

"It's my Kekkei Genkai, the Harukazes can all control wind like we  _are_  the wind. This allows me to control the wind without the need of a conductor like most wind-users." Hayato informed, his giddiness was replaced by an informative and serious tone.

"There's only one other Harukaze in the village, your dad right? Riku?" Hayato nodded. "Ah, nice, Riku's a pretty good fighter. Hey, wanna go a few rounds?" Shisui asked, suddenly the Hayato's giddiness came back and he nodded in a hurry.

"Great! Itachi," he called out to the boy next to Hayato, "I want to see your progress after this." A simple phrase that meant he wanted a spar after his fight with the wind-user.

Itachi understood and walked over to the tree, and leaned on it, waiting for the match to start. 

"Ready, start!" Shisui called out and ran at Hayato, splitting into a dozen Shisuis. 

_'Damn there's so many.'_  Hayato thought irritated and formed a tiger sign. Spears began appearing around him, and with a finger pointing at his target, they flew forward, only to be countered with even more copies. "You'll have to try harder than that!" Shisui smirked much to Hayato's annoyance.

_'Damn it, if I don't find the original than this is pointless, he'll just keep coming back. If that's the case... Then I'll just have to take down all of them at once!'_  Hayato thought, then sprang into action. "Here we go! Take this! 'Wind Style: Downburst!'" Wind shot out around Hayato when he shot his arms down and straight into every afterimage, eventually finding the real one and knocking him back, thus getting rid of the replicas.

Hayato took his chance and charged at him with a chakra coated tanto, along with a wind clone. The first Hayato went low and slashed at him, only to be dodged with a back roll. The second Hayato jumped over the first and followed up on the opponent's back roll, only to be blocked by a kunai, but Shisui was pinned on the ground with a tanto a few centimeters from his face. 

"You're good but good enough!" Shisui stated, flashing out from under him. Clones appeared everywhere in the air. Hayato frowned and threw balls of physical wind into the air. 

_'Shit, what are those?'_  Shisui thought curiously. 

"Alright, it's time I get serious too then. Let's do this!" Hayato exclaimed and clapped his hands together. Suddenly, the airballs transformed into clones and jumped towards the many Shisuis. A battle of blades began, and it was close, every Hayato clone that was taken down exploded into a small burst of sharp wind, killing the enemy clone. While with every Shisui taken down, more would appear.

"I won't win without this..." Shisui muttered and activated his Sharingan. Hayato tch'd, but closed his eyes and made a tiger seal once more.

_'What is he doing? Is he sensing me?'_  Shisui questioned in his mind. Nonetheless, formed more clones and charged at his opponent. 

Hayato and Shisui engaged in Taijutsu, with Shisui having an upper hand in sheer numbers, however, Hayato blocked every strike aimed at him. After ducking under a kick, Hayato uppercutted him in the chest, Shisui gasped for air but regained his composure quickly. Quickly, Hayato forced Shisui onto the defensive, he attacked him with his own form of Taijutsu, a mix of Capoeira, spinning, and quick and constant strikes, never giving the opponent time to rest.  **(A/N: No clue where or when I came up with this, but it kind of works).**

Both Shisui and Itachi, who had been observing intently, were struggling to keep up with powerful and rapid barrages of attacks from Hayato.  _'I've never seen this fighting style before!'_ The two thought.

Shisui got kicked out from his thoughts, literally, a roundhouse kick from Hayato knocked him straight into a tree by Itachi, who's eyes were widened. Hayato formed a tiger seal and began walking towards Shisui, prepared for a counterattack, only to be met with his opponent with his arms up in defeat. 

"Alright, I give up." He said panting slightly, "my eyes are strained and my head is pounding from that hit."

Hayato let out a breath he was instinctively holding in and splayed out on the floor. Itachi looked back and forth between the two, and decide to check on Shisui, who had worse injuries and a potential concussion. Itachi didn't even have to say anything before Shisui said he was fine, even though he stumbled a little in his step. Meanwhile, Hayato was muttering, the most notable was him mentioning how he "was in so much trouble for injuring a comrade in a friendly spar".

Itachi facepalmed at their situation. Despite their "issues", the two fighters managed to stand up and walked over to each other. 

"That Taijutsu you used, what was that?" Shisui asked, wanting to know what even Itachi was curious about.

"I call it 'Wind Warrior', mixing my Kekkei Genkai with a dancing style allows me the freedom of movement in battle. It works well with my normal fighting style of quick and efficient strikes." Hayato explained and the two Uchihas nodded understandingly. "How'd you escape from under me earlier?" 

"Another use of the 'Body Flicker Technique', I simply faded away from you." He told the victor, whose eyes widened in realization. 

"Wait if that's the case, then why didn't you escape from my Taijutsu?" He asked. 

"Many reasons actually. One, Lord Hokage wanted to know of your true skills. Two, making dozens upon dozens of afterimages is pretty taxing if you ask me. Three, my Sharingan was active too, so I was losing chakra a lot quicker than normal. Basically, you beat me fair and square. Your idea of overwhelming me worked well in forcing me to waste chakra. So nice job." Shisui told the man sympathetically. He then turned towards Itachi and bowed slightly, "Sorry Itachi, I can't exactly fight you in this condition, so we'll have to wait until tomorrow."

Itachi shook his head, "It's fine, at least I know of my cocaptain's true skills." Hayato blushed lightly and Shisui's eyes widened. "You two are ANBU captains!?" He interrogated quickly, to which they nodded. 

"Incredible!" Suddenly he became serious and stared at Itachi, "be careful Itachi". Hayato tilted his head in confusion, but Itachi nodded at his other friend's warning.

"Well, I'm gonna go report this to Lord Hokage. Bye bye!" Shisui waved goodbye and vanished, presumedly to the Hokage Tower. Hayato looked at Itachi, still confused at what Shisui said to his young friend. "What did he mean by 'be careful'? Is there some kind of danger?" He asked him. 

"Nothing to worry about Hayato," Itachi said with a slightly agitated face.

"Itachi," Hayato said sternly, stopping the Uchiha in his tracks. "You weren't agitated like that before he said that. Something is up, what is it?" 

"I can't tell you," Itachi said, his mood lifting a little. Hayato sighed, "You know I'm here for you right? You can tell me these things."

Itachi hesitated, but sighed and nodded anyway, "my dad wants me as a spy for the Uchiha in the Leaf's ranks. He's planning a Coup d'étât I think."

"Are you a spy? Honestly." Hayato wanted to know if he could truly trust his best friend. Thankfully, Itachi said that he wasn't, his body language proved it, not a single twitch occurred. 

"Have you told Hokage-sama?" He asked again, to which Itachi nodded. "So you're a double-agent basically?" He nodded again.

"Ah, good to know I can trust you on your loyalty," Hayato smiled genuinely. "I rather not have to fight my best friend. Also, don't worry, your secret is safe with me"

Itachi smiled at the word best friend. To think, him, the lonely Uchiha heir. The child who had no friends growing up except for some ridiculous followers, Shisui and his Genin team. Had managed to make an actual friend, someone to trust with his life, he certainly proved that he could defend him if need be.

"Oh, the sun is going down... Oh shit! Naruto!" He screamed and proceeded to bolt across the Training Grounds they met Shisui on. Itachi laughed, then realized he had to pick up Sasuke.

* * *

"Naruto! I'm so sorry!" He screamed as he saw Naruto sitting on a swing outside the Academy entrance. 

"There you are! I thought you forgot about me dattebayo!" He said with a hint of sadness. 

"I got held up with training with Itachi and his friend. I'll get you some ramen to make it up to you." His mood was instantly lifted. The two were laughing together when Hayato saw Sasuke was sitting alone watching them. 

Hayato called him over, "Oi! Sasuke come here!" The two six-year-olds looked confused, but Sasuke hesitantly walked over. "Hayato-nii, what's a matter?"

Hayato gushed at the suffix, hugging Sasuke tightly and crying. Once again, the two kids were confused at the teen's strange behavior. 

"Nii? He's your brother? Does that make him my uncle? I don't want to be related to that teme. I'm so confused..." Naruto rambled on about the name. 

"Teme? Don't be rude, and no worries, he's the little brother of my best friend. Speaking of Itachi, where is he? I could've sworn that he was behind me..." He scolded Naruto, then deadpanned, realizing that he left Itachi alone. "Oh, there he is! Itachi! Sasuke called me 'Hayato-nii'!" He ran towards Itachi while waving wildly.

"Did he actually?" Itachi asked skeptically, Hayato nodded profusely. "Sasuke! Do it again!" He called out to the youngest Uchiha.

"Hayato-nii?" Sasuke said questionably, Itachi stared at him and Hayato lost it again.

"See I wasn't lying!" He told Itachi, who nodded, "strange..." Itachi muttered.

Hayato walked back to Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder, "You guys want to get ramen with me and Naruto?" Itachi shook his head. "Sorry, Okaasan is waiting for us at home. Maybe next time."

"Alright then, oh, Itachi," Hayato signaled his best friend over, "I think my kiddo is rivals with your little brother. He called him 'teme' earlier, he was totally ready for a fight." He whispered, Itachi laughed silently. "That would be enjoyable to watch that's for certain," Itachi told him.

"Alright, see you tomorrow Itachi! Give my regards to your family!" Hayato waved goodbye to Itachi and Sasuke.

He looked over at Naruto, who was giving him a questionable look. "How do you know that teme and the pretty boy?" Naruto asked, more like an interrogation.

"Well that 'teme' is the youngest of the current Uchiha Main Branch family, and my best friend's little brother. I met him two days ago, so I'm not sure why he calls me 'Hayato-nii' but I'm not complaining. That pretty boy is my best friend and co-captain on my team. A great person if you ask me, just slightly unsocial but cares deeply for his brother." he replied nonchalantly.

"Also, I think you two would be great rivals, even Itachi agrees. So good luck, you better beat that  _'teme'_." Hayato smirked and chuckled, he lit a fire under Naruto, he was determined to beat Sasuke. His determination was cut off by a growling stomach.

"Oh right, I didn't eat lunch... Let's go get that ramen I owe you!" They cheered over their rumbling stomachs. 


	5. Chapter 5

The duo of Naruto and Hayato were walking down the quiet dirt road of Konoha. Hayato noted the looks he and his adopted son received by the passerby, filled with hatred and resentment, largely directed at the Jinchūriki. Naruto was quiet, unnaturally quiet, was it because of the looks he was met with? Or because of the earlier encounter with the Uchiha brothers? Hayato couldn't tell with the small amount of time he spent with the boy. He wanted to help his son, so he asked.

"Naruto," Hayato snapped the boy out of his thoughts and silence, "what's wrong?"

The small boy looked at the ANBU captain before answering, hesitating but answering, "are you going to replace me with that teme?" The question shocked Hayato, his eyes widening, but then he started to laugh. His face had an  _'are you serious?'_  look. Naruto looked down, avoiding the gaze of his guardian.

"Not a chance kiddo, you can't get rid of me that easily," Hayato grinned, Naruto lifted his head to meet Hayato eyes, they held deep compassion and a blazing fire of determination. "The relationship between me and Sasuke is different from ours. I'd give my life for you if need be, more than I would for Sasuke."

Hayato ruffled Naruto's hair and picked him up, putting his legs over his shoulders and in a piggyback position.

"To Ichiraku!" Hayato called out while beginning to sprint with Naruto crying out in fits of giggles. Earning strange looks from the passerby, for once, not looks of disgust.

Civilians as well as the "Eternal Rivals", as Guy had dubbed the two, watched as a cloud of dust sailed past them. Sparkles filled the Green Beast's eyes.

"A race! A wonderful idea! Come now my dearest rival! Let us engage in this youthful competition!" The green jumpsuit wearing man exclaimed. Kakashi sighed and shook his head.

"No thanks, maybe next time."  _'Was that Hayato? The voice was familiar...'_

"I'm heading to Ichiraku's, I'm craving ramen," Kakashi said as he started walking away, ignoring the calls of protest from Guy.

* * *

Teuchi and his ten-year-old daughter, Ayame, were washing bowls and prepping for the dinnertime wave of customers when the gust of wind blew into the small restaurant. They looked at the entryway to find the cause, only to see Hayato and Naruto, a small child they fed a few days before when he stumbled into the restaurant.

"Here we are!" Hayato said loudly, startling a lone customer sitting in the corner. The two chefs looked in disbelief at the two people.  _'Wasn't that boy an orphan?'_ They both thought.

"Can we have two orders of miso ramen with char siu, please?" Hayato requested as they sat down on the stools. Teuchi shook off his doubts and nodded, starting to prepare their meal.

The four of them were chatting aimlessly until Teuchi asked a simple question, "are you Naruto's guardian?" To which Hayato nodded.

"I adopted him a day ago," Hayato informed them, earning him a sincere smile from the workers. "Thank you for deciding to take care of him, he deserves it for what he's gone through at his age." They bowed to the teen.

Their gratitude surprised both Hayato and Naruto, one stood there surprised at their caring nature of the child, while the other broke out in tears. Naruto was mumbling incoherent  _'thank you's'._ Hayato refocused and bowed to them as well, grateful for their aid in helping Naruto before him.

As the mess unfolded, that's when Kakashi decided to enter the restaurant, taking in the full scene of the three bowing individuals and a crying mess child. A cough from the silver-haired ANBU grabbed their attention, their heads snapped towards him. Kakashi had a smug grin on his face as Hayato looked away in embarrassment, Naruto started wiping away his tears.

"Kakashi what are you doing here?" Hayato asked with a slightly red face, obviously still embarrassed by what just happened. Kakashi shrugged and said, "I have to eat too you know?" Earning a groan of annoyance from the boy and a snicker from the two people behind the counter. Naruto sat there and watched the two ANBU banter with one another.

Eventually, Kakashi sat down next to Hayato and began eating his meal, finishing it in an instant, much to Hayato's surprise. "Well, that was good," he said, rubbing his stomach, "I'm gonna head home, ja ne!" Then he was gone. 

_'What the hell?'_  They all thought.

"You have a weird friend dad..." Naruto muttered to his father, who nodded in agreement.

"Anyways, how was your first day at the academy Naruto?" Hayato asked curiously, Naruto looked slightly depressed. 

"They treat me the same as on the outside..." Naruto muttered again, "but they let me throw a kunai! I may or may not have missed the target, but I'm trying!" His mood shifted from gloomy to excited.  _'He really wants to be a ninja, huh? That's good, keep up the determination'_ Hayato smiled, he was proud of his kid's fire. Yet even when he tries to impress everyone, they still look away, for the fear of the "monster" that he is, or that is inside him. He's happy that Naruto wants to prove that he isn't like they think he is.

"Nice going kiddo! Don't worry about what others think of you, keep being you and if they don't warm up to you, then they don't deserve you." Hayato told him straight up while slurping up some of his noodles. 

Naruto sat there contemplating what he just heard before coming up with an idea, his eyes brimmed with excitement. "Hey dad," he asked wanting to get the green light on his brilliant idea, "can you train me? You are a super skilled ninja right?" His voice was getting louder with each word and his excitement was peaking, yet he still had a lighthearted expression.

Hayato pretended to think about it and then nodded in acceptance. "Might as well..." He responded with his arms crossed and head tilted downwards. Naruto shot up,  _literally_ , arms straight up and grinning from ear to ear. Hayato let a small chuckle with a small smile at his son's reaction.

"Let's head home kid," he said standing up and grabbing his wallet, "you have school in the morning and it's getting late. As much as I want to stay, I have work in the morning too." Hayato put  _a lot of_  money on the counter and waited as Naruto finished up the last of his many,  _many_  bowls of ramen.

Thanking Teuchi and his daughter, the two went off into the village once more. The bright yellow sun was slowly descending into the horizon and the sky turned from a deep blue color to vibrant orange color. The colors within the village became less and less prominent the further the sun fell. Shadows took over a majority of the space, and eventually all light save for the sources coming from the homes of the population. The two walked into their home, a small distance away from the academy, Naruto went face first into the bed and was asleep almost immediately. 'Guess he's tired... Not blaming him though...' Hayato thought and let out a yawn, then walked over to his couch.

_'Time to sleep...'_  Hayato thought drowsily. He closed his eyes and the wonderful embrace of darkness covered him, forcing him to submit to his wanted slumber.

**(A/N: What did I just write? A descriptive paragraph?)**

* * *

Hayato was woken up by a knock at the door. When he grumpily trudged over to the door and opened it, Itachi was standing there, fully awake and emotionless. Hayato glared at him and asked him a simple question, "what do you want at..." He looked at the clock, it showed 4:30 am, "four-thirty in the morning?" 

Itachi bluntly replied with, "we have a mission, we need to leave in an hour, come get the rest of the team with me." Hayato sighed but agreed to help nonetheless.

"Let write a note for Naruto..." He yawned and rubbed his eye, pulling out a brush and a small pot of ink, he wrote:

_"Hey Kiddo!_

_Sorry that I'm not there when you wake up._

_Duty calls and I need to head out for an urgent mission._

_No clue why it's so early but I'll figure it out later._

_Not sure when I'll get back, but until then, have a good day._

_No ramen for breakfast!_

_Hayato"_

After signing the note, he left it on the nightstand and set an alarm at a respectable wake-up time. Slowly, he walked into the bathroom and changed into his ANBU and grabbed his mask, and then attached it to his hip. He walked outside to see Itachi leaning against a wall, he locked the door and they left to go tell the other members.

On the way to see Kaito, Hayato, who had finally properly woken up thanks to the cool air, asked about their mission. Itachi simply pointed upwards, a small crow with a scroll attached to its leg was flying in circles above them.

"That's a messenger bird I gave to the Hokage if he needed my help or the team's, it's most likely a secret mission due to the timing," he informed him, Hayato still wondered why the Hokage would call for Team Yata at such an early time. 

"I'll go fetch Kaito, you should go find the others. We'll meet up at the Hokage's Office, I want to know why we have such an early mission." Hayato commanded, Itachi nodded and jumped off to the edge of the village, presumedly to Daichi's home, not wanting to deal with Akane's anger so early in the morning.

"Where is it? Oh there..." He saw the apartment building that Kaito lived in, it was a couple minute walk from both the Hokage Tower and the ANBU building. Hayato knocked on the plain door, after a minute or so, Kaito answered. His face was covered by part of his bangs, his eyes were closed and he was mumbling curses.

"Kaito, we have a mission," Hayato informed him, Kaito's eyes shot open and he quickly adjusted himself, he apologized for his rude greeting. Hayato chuckled quietly.

"Meet us at the Hokage Tower in ten minutes," He told the half asleep man, then he vanished in a flash, leaving Kaito in a daze.

* * *

Itachi was jumping on the rooftops to reach Daichi's home.  _'Hayato went to find Kaito first, it'll be annoying to deal with two loudmouths so early...'_  Itachi thought. A gust of wind blew by Itachi and there appeared Hayato, alone. 

"I'll go fetch Akane, and don't worry, I told Kaito to meet at the Tower in ten minutes, so let's hustle," Hayato told Itachi, making a  _'come on!'_  gesture with his hands. Itachi sped up a little and the two eventually split up again. 

The morning sun was shining in Itachi's eyes but he pushed on, eventually getting to his destination. He knocked on the door a few times, to no avail. He tried again, this time, he heard a couple shuffles and then the door unlocked and opened. Daichi looked pissed, he glared at Itachi and then realized it was his captain. He bowed ninety degrees repeatedly until Itachi motioned for him to stop.

"We have a mission, be at the Hokage Tower in ten minutes." Itachi left for the Tower without another word.

 

When Hayato knocked on Akane's door, all he heard was something being thrown at the door. He quickly moved to the side as a table clock shot through the door and into a wall behind him.

The captain stood there paralyzed as Akane unlocked the door and came out looking a demon. He started to slowly back up as she approached him with her head down. She grabbed him by the collar and glared up at him.

"Why would you wake me up so early..." She said with a deep intimidating voice. Hayato shook in place.

"We have... a... mission.." He managed to stutter out, she calmed immediately.

"Why didn't you say that earlier?" She asked innocently. Hayato sighed and questioned why he decided to get Akane by himself, the woman terrifies him now.  _'Akane is a demon in disguise.'_ Hayato thought terrified.

"I would have but someone decided to launch a clock at my head through the door." He retorted, "now you have to buy a new door." Akane paused for a moment, looked over at the partially destroyed door then back at Hayato, "well then..."

"Good luck with this mess, we have to be at the Hokage Tower in ten minutes, so hurry up and get ready. Also, fix your door." Hayato left her alone, completely ignoring her screams for help with her door.  _'It's too early for this...'_  He thought wearily.

* * *

The entire Team Yata stood outside the Hokage's office, a small light was peering out from under the door, most likely from the desk lamp he owns. Akane had barely managed to arrive on time, when she did, however, she gave Hayato an intense glare and nearly attacked her captain, but he was saved by Kaito and Daichi withstraining her. Itachi wasn't bothered in the slightest, he probably expected this to happen, but he didn't expect Hayato to cower behind him for the period of time they spent outside the door. Eventually, Itachi knocked on the door, hearing a gruff 'come in' and opened the door. The Hokage, who looked like he hadn't slept all night, glanced up from his paperwork to meet the eyes of the team.

_'Jeez, that pile of paper looks endless...'_  They all thought, feeling somewhat bad for the old man, but grateful it wasn't them being stuck with the desk job.

"Why are you all here?" The Hokage asked with an exhausted expression. 

"The mission sir..." Hayato told him point blank. 

The Hokage gave him a blank stare before remembering, "oh right! That mission!"

_'Is he seriously the leader of the village?'_  They deadpanned at his poor memory.

"I suppose I should tell you the details," The old man behind the desk decided.

"Team Yata, you'll be going on an S-Class mission to other lands, the mission lasts a couple weeks," he informed them. Akane and Daichi shined at the mission difficulty, while Kaito attempted to calm them down, to no effect. Hiruzen had to cough to catch their attention again. _'How are they even ANBU?'_  The two captains questioned in their minds. 

"Do what you all do best. Assassinate key individuals that threaten our Village. All details are in this scroll," he passed them a scroll with a seal on it. "Read it, memorize it and then destroy all evidence of it."

The team of ANBU opened the scroll and read its contents, assassinate a couple high rank missing-nins with ties back to the Leaf, along with a few shinobi from enemy villages, predominantly from the Hidden Stone. Hayato noted the details and certain recently spotted locations, then he tossed it up towards Akane, who burned it before it could fall back down.

"Try not to leave a trace back to us. Dismissed." He told them to leave, they all gave him a respectful bow and  _'Hai! Hokage-sama'_.

Once outside, Hayato turned to his team, "let's move out!"

"Osu!"


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto woke up that morning to the sound of an alarm clock. 'That's not right...' He thought, usually it would be his dad who'd wake him up. On top of that, he didn't smell the aroma of breakfast that Hayato would wake up early to make for him. Then he saw it, a note labeled "Naruto". When he got up and opened it, he read it and began feeling sad. 'He left me... Like everyone else did...' Small drops of water hit the paper, the child was crying for the loss of his favorite guardian, the one who took him in willingly and gave him a home. He didn't even know when he'd be back, or if he even will be back...

Meanwhile in the Uchiha household, specifically in the Clan Head's home, Sasuke woke up that morning feeling more enthusiastic than usual. The previous night he spent with his brother was spent training with shuriken and kunai. 'Maybe niisan will take me to school today!' He thought excitedly, only to be slightly disappointed to see that his brother wasn't present in the dining area waiting for breakfast. His father greeted the youngest as he sipped his tea and nodded to his wife as she entered the room.

"If you're looking for your brother, he left a note saying he had an early mission." She told her son and place breakfast on the table and sat down, Sasuke pouted a little but sat down anyway. They said 'Itadakimasu' and began eating. Sasuke took his time eating and went to get ready for school. Mikoto offered to take Sasuke to school in place of Itachi, but Sasuke declined, obviously upset about not getting to go with his brother.

'Please come home...' The two children thought distressed.

* * *

Team Yata was moving swiftly through the green forest of the Land of Fire, the morning sun was almost at its peak in the sky. The light shining down from it was partially blocked by the trees but it overcame the bushy trees and lit up the figures of the team. Itachi was in front of the team while Hayato was the rear guard in case they were ambushed.

"Itachi-taichou," Daichi called out to the captain who hummed in response, his focus still on the path ahead of them. "When will be finding our target?" He asked.

Itachi simply answered, "a couple minutes."

That's when the team came to a clearing in the trees. It was a small woodshed that acted as a base. Simply observing first, they saw a ninja with a three-section staff attached to his hip come out through the door.

"There he is, 'Kano of the Three-Section Staff', responsible for sharing information on our supply routes during the war to the enemy," Hayato informed them of the target's crimes.

"I'll take the target, the rest of you search the shed for anything useful to us," Hayato commanded them, a chorus of 'hai' was heard in response.

They scattered from their spot in the trees, one landing behind the target, the rest by the door. Kano heard them land, he turned to the door and panicked, he started to run but was stopped by a fist through his chest. Hayato, who coated his arm in sharp wind chakra, impaled him and successfully eliminated the first target.

He pulled out his arm from the corpse and made sure Kano was dead. Once confirmed, he turned to the team, who had come out of the shed empty-handed. "Anything?" Hayato asked, Kaito shook his head.

"No information on us at all," Kaito told him.

"Good," Hayato responded.

"Taichou..." Akane whined, "let me kill the next one!"

"The next closest target is an interrogation target, we need to know details for an enemy operation. Sorry." Hayato told her in a bored tone. Akane acted dejected for a few minutes following that statement.

* * *

"We need to intercept a Head Ninja from the Hidden Cloud that's planning to meet an ambush force, we received intel from Jiraiya stating that they're moving to ambush a Leaf convoy. If they succeed, they'll cripple part of our forces. The Head Ninja will know where they're going to initiate, and our job is to stop them, by all means necessary." Hayato informed them in a serious tone. Akane got excited when she learned of the new addition to the mission, a battle with a platoon of shinobi.

"Be on guard, we don't know the accompanying force he has with him," Itachi told them to be careful.

After an hour of running, Hayato, who had been put in front for his sensory skills, came to a stop. The team questioned and he told that "he's approaching, he has... five men with him, all Jounin."

"We'll have to ambush them, we're outnumbered. Remember to leave the Head alive." Itachi came up with a quick solution, they all nodded and got into positions in the surrounding environment, then hid their chakra.

They watched as a group of six men, each wearing a navy blue undershirt and a grey sash-like shirt, passed into their trap, Hayato signaled them and they engaged immediately. Itachi had dropped a wire trap which captured the Head and tied him to a tree, Hayato followed up and formed spears around him then rained them down on the ninja. It all happened too quickly for the Head Ninja to notice, his team had been killed in an instant. Not even Akane had a chance to deal any damage to them, much to her frustration.

"Demons..." The Head Ninja shuddered as he spoke.

"We're crows, get it right why don't ya?" Akane spoke up, he nodded in a terrified response, not wanting to get killed.

"Akane," Hayato called out to her, "you're on 'information gathering' duty." Her special 'duty', was a nicer way to say quick interrogation, better known as torture. She grinned sadistically, the man bound to the man cried in fear as she approached.

After half an hour of consistent screams, Akane dug out the location of the ambush from the man. She wasn't very pleased with the result, however.

"Man I must've gone soft or somethin'," Akane told them, "usually it takes me half the time. His songs were beautiful though."

**(A/N: Songs mean his cries of pain to clear things up)**

"Well he is a Head Ninja, he has secrets that need to be kept as secrets, so resisting torture is a given. Nice work nonetheless." He praised the girl who had a somewhat creepy grin on her face, she definitely wanted to do it again.

"Enough talking, let's go," Itachi ordered, Hayato felt unnerved at the commanding tone of his best friend, who usually isn't so, commanding... Normally it's him who gives out orders, besides they think alike anyway, so Itachi doesn't feel required to talk. Itachi didn't want to admit it, but he wanted to see his brother again, so he wanted to get the mission done as fast as possible.

Itachi started to run towards the ambush site to help stop the platoon of an ambush force. The team followed suit, but left the Head Ninja alone and stuck to the tree.

* * *

"We need to hurry. They don't have much time until the ambush." Hayato said with a frown. The lives of the convoy depended on their speed. Yet, even then, there may still be casualties.

Soon enough, they were approaching the location, a measly hour away from their previous location. A strange silence filled the air, no rustling nor howls. That's when it all went to hell. Simultaneous explosions went off several dozen meters away, screams filled the formerly quiet air. Sparks of lightning shocked the earth and air, clashes of kunai could be heard between explosions.

'We need to help them!'

"Move!" The captains commanded with a dominant tone, no one even dared to question their decision, not that they could because they were gone in the instant they gave the order. They shuushined into a battlefield, littered with corpses, both combatants alike. At the front of the convoy squad, a small squad of what seemed like Jounin-level shinobi blocked the only available escape route. Meanwhile, at the back of the convoy, Chuunin-level shinobi were overwhelming the leaf-nin in sheer numbers. Hayato paused for a moment, contemplating what to do, an idea flashed into his head.

"Akane!" He called out to the sole female member of his team, "you're with me, we're dealing those guys in front. We need to secure their escape route!" A wide sadistic grin grew on Akane's face. "Itachi," he hollered, Itachi's head perked up, seemingly ignoring the orders of his co-captain in favor of his own potential orders. "Take the rest of the team to deal with the Chuunins." Hayato didn't make eye contact with him or the rest of them, he depended on them and trusted them fully, he knew they could make it through. Hayato gestured towards Akane to come with him, and she did, then they were gone.

Appearing in front of the Jounin squad, they stood in front of an injured squad of Leaf-nin. The enemy looked startled by their appearance, Hayato turned to Akane and gave a snarky comment, "don't go dying on me." She appeared offended by his attempt at mockery, "me?" She questioned, "you think I'll die to these losers?" Their bantering continued on, the enemies just stood there, perturbed. The leader, Hayato had presumed judging by a banner he had around his waist, screeched at them, "how dare you make light of us! We'll kill you!" Then they charged at them, only to be avoided by the two ANBU.

"Rude..." Hayato stated, "we were talking you bastard." He grabbed his tanto and clashed with the man who stood next to the leader. He saw the latter charge from behind his teammate and jump over him, Hayato pulled back his blade and caused the man to fall forward slightly. In a strange maneuver, he slid under the man, jumped and roundhouse kicked him. He flew straight into his leader and they crashed to the ground. Hayato smirked and mocked the two, "is that seriously all you got?" This infuriated the duo, they got off the ground and launched at him.   
  
The leader jumped up in a repeated attempt to stab in from above, while his teammate came from the front, a katana unsheathed. Hayato sprinted forward, a suicidal move in anyone's perspective. Instead of being shredded into pieces, he turned into a small gust of air, then appeared behind them. He turned towards them and flashed through a dozen hand signs.

He took a deep breath and exhaled sharply, "Wind Style: Twister Tunnel!" A horizontal twister roared from Hayato's mouth, its size could engulf the men many times over. The two Cloud-nin barely managed to jump out of the way, their bodies were covered in nicks from the sharp winds. 

"Damn it, that won't happen again!" The leader proudly, yet furiously stated. Hayato glanced over at Akane's battle, she was caught up in a two on one taijutsu battle. She was managing to dodge every strike, however, she couldn't return with a strike of her own. She needed help, he  _needed_  to help her, he couldn't lose anyone else.

A flash of determination flared in his eyes,  _'I need to use "that" if I want to help her..._ ' 

Hayato jumped away from his enemies, leaving a fairly large gap between them. He focused his chakra into both of his hands. Wind surrounded his hands, followed by a light blue swirl of liquid, then it sparked,  _lightning._

The two battles around him stopped to watch his chakra form blades extending from where his forearm begins, "Storm Style: Raijin's Dual Longsword!"

Hayato stood there with a fierce expression and leaning forward slightly, two blades replaced his hands. His enemies stood in a mix of fear and shock,  _'Storm Style?! That's nothing like ours?!'_   They snapped out of it and formed hand signs.

"Water Style: Rushing Wave!" A giant wave plowed its way through the earth and the scattered weapons. 

"Lightning Style: Flurry Sparks!" Sparks ignited around the wave and combined with it. A tsunami of flowing electricity barreled towards Hayato's charging form, yet he was unwavering. He clapped his blade arms together and dove forwards, instead of falling onto the ground, he was flying from momentum. He took advantage of the velocity from his sprint and spun continuously. Chakra from his blades surrounded his figure and completely engulfed him. The thickness of the blades spread out in diameter the closer it became to his body, he became a twisting blade.

"Storm Style: Storm Drill!" Hayato's drill collided with the wave, the force from his attack tore through the surface of the combined attack effortlessly. He came out on the other side, seeing his wide-eyed enemies. Hayato let out a war cry and slammed into the ground, then his chakra exploded and consumed them all. Dust covered the area, and when it cleared. Hayato stood triumphant over the corpses of the leader and his companion, totally unscathed from his battle. The massive explosion caught the attention of the entire battlefield.

One of Akane's enemies watched as his leader got destroyed in combat,  _'how did he?! That was our strongest shinobi!'_  He thought in terror. Everyone there all had the same opinion of Hayato,  _'he's a monster!'_

"Retreat! We don't stand a chance against  _that!_ " The Jounin of the Cloud called out to the rest of the ambush squad. They abandoned the fight for the fear of their own death. The battle was won for the Konoha platoon, yet at the lives of many. It was this fight that Hayato gained the moniker, " _Hurricane_ ". A sign for his powerful winds and being the most dangerous storm, even when compared to the ones from the Hidden Cloud.

"Come on Akane, let's go see the team." He made a sign for her to follow him again. When they arrived in the center, they saw the rest of Team Yata standing by the treeline. Daichi saw them approaching and waved them over.

"I sent a messenger bird to Konoha," Itachi started, Hayato nodded, "we'll probably have to escort them home and continue the mission tomorrow."

"At least you'll get to see Sasuke again." Hayato teased, Itachi glared at him and made him shudder, the team laughed at him. 

* * *

Itachi prediction was right, Team Yata had been ordered to escort the convoy back to Konoha, despite the lack of risk. Hayato had single-handedly scared them all away. On the way home, Hayato was positioned in front of the group of ninja, Akane moved towards Itachi and whispered to him, "did you know he could do that?" She asked, obviously referring to his "Storm Style". He nodded and answered, "well yeah." Akane looked at him strangely as he deadpanned. 

"Seriously!" She yelled straight into his ear, he covered them instinctively.

Hayato turned around as he heard a scream, all he managed to make out was Akane yelling at Itachi, as the said man looked forwards impassively and covered his ears the entire way.  _'Business as usual'_  Hayato joked to himself. 

In the middle of the night, the convoy arrived at the village gates. They were met with a squad of guards along with, surprisingly the Hokage. Once the convoy was secured and the rest of the ninja left, Hiruzen walked up to Team Yata, his pipe in hand. He looked around them and saw no one around, he mouthed the word " _report._ "

Itachi spoke up first before Hayato could, albeit quietly as to not be heard by non-ANBU, "Kano is dead, and the ambush was repelled." The Third Hokage answered with a nod and asked for another statement.

"Casualties?"

"Nine out of the forty-two men present in the convoy, all bodies have been accounted for," Itachi informed him while looking down at the ground. 

"Good work today. Deal with the rest starting tomorrow." The Hokage ordered, they gave a chorus of  _'hai'._

"Five am tomorrow morning," Hayato commanded in a quiet tone he looked at Itachi, he was antsy and fidgeting slightly with his finger. "Go Itachi." Hayato gave him a cheeky smile, though not seen through the mask. Itachi was gone in the instant that he was told to leave.

"Dismissed." He told the rest of them, and then shuushined to his home, where the lights were still on. 

He opened the door quietly and looked around. Books were scattered around and a couple cups of ramen that he had bought a couple days before were on the floor. He entered the bedroom and saw Naruto sitting at the desk, hard at work reading a book,  _"Basics of Chakra?"_

"Naruto? Whatcha doing?" Naruto jumped up in his seat and looked at him startled. A sigh of relief escaped his lips once he saw who it was. He jumped and hugged him, then cried into his shoulders.

"I thought you left me..." He could barely utter the words as he sobbed. Hayato looked shocked at this "conclusion" his son had drawn. He pushed his confusion aside and hugged him, rubbing his back softly. He muttered complements and told him that he would never leave him. Eventually, Naruto calmed down to a state of occasional sniffles.

"Come on, let's go to bed, you need sleep for the Academy tomorrow," Hayato told him, before realizing that his son had fallen asleep in his arms. He carried him over to the bed and laid him down gently, he pulled over the covers, turned off the lights and left the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto woke up in a familiar bed, yet not with the memory of getting there. All he remembered from the night before was...  _'Otou-san!'_ Naruto shot up out of bed and scrambled out of the room. Similar to yesterday morning, he found no one, except this time, a warm smell filled his nostrils. He followed to its source in a trance-like state straight to the kitchen. On the counter there a plate of food, a grilled salmon and a bowl of rice. Along with a small half folded note saying, " _Eat up! I'll be back in a couple days hopefully! Until then._ " Signed by his father with a doodle next to his signature. 

Naruto smiled softly at his father's thoughtfulness, yet the feeling of loneliness plagued his heart, only if he hadn't looked at his father's efforts at being thoughtfulness.

Naruto ate the meal that was left for him, savoring every bite, the wonderful taste of a homecooked meal made with love. He made his way over to the bedroom and got ready for school. 

He left that morning with a grin brighter than the sun, blinding both passersby and classmates alike.

* * *

"Look who it is!  _The Hurricane!_ " Akane mocked with a fake smile while waving in an overly excited manner. Her sarcasm and mocking attitude were so obvious it was unbelievable. Hayato sighed in discontent, it was too early to deal with her antics. In spite of that, he rivaled her grin with his own,  _very smug_  grin. Akane winced slightly at the challenge but she stood strong. 

Hayato spoke up in an equal ridicule tone, "Woah!  _The_ Akane knows who I am!? I'm  _so_ honored!" Daichi snorted at his retort and challenge. 

"Of course! Who wouldn't know of the great Hurricane!?" Akane countered, giggling at him. A small tick mark appeared on Hayato's forehead, but he gave her a closed eye smile, like the ones Kakashi would send his way.

"The ones I killed," Hayato spoke with such a ferocious tone, it shook the entire team to their cores, despite his display of killing intent. He still had that shit-eating grin on his face. Then unexpectedly, the two idiots, Itachi had dubbed them, burst out in laughter and doubled over. Itachi stared emotionlessly at their bent over forms. He decided he had enough and walked over to them, then smacked them over the heads. Hayato mumbled an ' _itai_ ' while Akane openly cursed at him. 

"The hell was that for?" She had an overly-exasperated look on her face while she rubbed the back of her head. Itachi facepalmed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"We have to leave and you're acting like idiots." Then he stood up and left for the trees. The rest of Team Yata followed, albeit reluctantly. He was right though. The two troublemakers straightened up and left with an air of professionalism around them.

"Go get 'em, Hurricane..." Akane muttered as she jumped next to Hayato, just loud enough that he would hear, but she sped up faster than he could return fire at her. She stuck her tongue out at him as turned around to look at him, all he could do is glare at her.

* * *

"Crap, there's too many to deal with this quietly."

Team Yata had arrived at their next target a day and a half away from Konoha. They were situated in a small village, no more than a couple houses and stores were present, that was filled with dozen men from the Hidden Cloud village. Akane, who on the other side of Itachi, for good reasons, spoke up, "how about we make ourselves known?" She grinned sadistically. 

Kaito countered before the captains could say anything, "It'd be better if picked some off first."

Hayato shook his head, "that won't work, they're wary of intruders. Especially considering what happened last night." By last night, he was referring to the repelling of the ambush by their team. The Cloud-nin got wind of their mission and bulked up almost all the defenses surrounding important figures of their village, that included their current target, Masahiro Koutarou. A dangerous man that was known for his use of  _his_ Storm Style, and how he lights up every battlefield he's on. Hence the alias, "Shining Storm." Masahiro killed an entire squad of Leaf-nin who managed to infiltrate and steal information from Kumo all on his own.

Hayato felt a tinge of excitement as read through the Bingo Book page on their target. He wanted to fight him, to settle a non-existent score between them. His Storm Style versus Masahiro's. Despite his hysteria, he needed to focus, his opponent is a veteran of war with  _years_ of experience over him.

Then he decided that he needed to turn the tides in their favor. He knew that the Raikage sent out a missive, more like a warning to all potential targets, that a new threat has arisen for them. The existence of Hayato Harukaze, a boy with a different Storm Style, a boy who took down a Jounin leader  _and_ his teammate. A boy, no older than sixteen, who could threaten their pride and cut off their chances of winning against the Leaf. Much like the "Yellow Flash of Konoha" did for Iwakagure, taking out a thousand on his own.

The team overheard the conversations between some of the ninja stationed on the outside of the village. 

"Did you hear? A boy took out Jozo. They say he earned a flee-on-site order from Lord Raikage."

"Good riddance, the dude was an ass to everyone, but he was still a powerhouse."

Hayato motioned them to engage the duo. Kaito snapped a branch then hid.  _Snap_. One of the nin heard it and stalked his way over to the source with a kunai in hand. Akane, who had been awfully quiet, was hiding in the branches in waiting for her target to get into position, right under the branch. When he did, she hung upside down, grabbed his head, then proceeded to snap his neck. She pulled the body up into the trees and waited for his partner to notice his disappearance. He did and the same routine followed.

"It's go time," Hayato ordered the motioned them close.

He made a tiger seal and wind surrounded them, slowly their feet left the ground and they were lifted into the air. Daichi was panicking internally but Kaito and Akane were curious. Hayato told them that this is his method of 'transportation' during battles, and how they were currently invisible. 

"I'm bringing us straight to the center. if I'm right, our target will try to engage me while the rest try to flee. I want you all to handle them." All except for Itachi gave him a slight nod and prepped for combat.

They landed in the middle of the street and uncovered themselves. Four of them ran straight at the startled enemies who were scrambling to grab their gear. Only to be cut down, some managed to fight back against them. Then they saw him, Hayato. At the sight of him, one screamed, "Hurricane! Everyone retreat!" What followed was half a dozen men running like the devil was after them towards the entrance. Still standing there, Hayato waited for a couple moments, and Masahiro appeared, a small smile on his face.

"I've been waiting for this ever since I heard of you yesterday," Koutarou told him, Hayato shared a look of excitement with him.

"Ever since I saw your face in the Bingo Book, I wanted a go at you." He unsheathed his tanto and got into a kata position meant for speed over power. Masahiro followed suit but instead of speed, he got into a low stance meant for power in his legs and held onto a kunai.

In a flash, the two were staring each other down with only inches of space between them, metal clanged as Hayato's tanto met with the kunai.

Hayato backed off with a short jump then charged at him again. With his blade at his right hip, he swung forwards repeatedly in quick motions, only to be blocked each time. He jumped straight into the air and swung downwards, Masahiro raised his kunai in defense. When the two collided, Hayato stayed aerial for a moment and in that moment, he swung his leg and kicked Koutarou straight in the abdomen. Masahiro wheezed for air for a second as he skitted back from the force of the kick. Seeing an opening, Hayato let out an onslaught of attacks into his enemy's poor excuse for a defense. He slashed upwards and the kunai went flying into the air, then Hayato hit him with a spin kick, causing him to go straight into a wall. 

Slightly disoriented and rubbing the back of his head, he got up and taunted Hayato, "how about we do what we came here for?" 

Hayato smirked and agreed, punching into his hand, "let's see who's stronger."

The two stared each other down as they did at the beginning. The tension in the air was thick and the winds slowly began picking up some pace, its howls were heard through the silence. No one made the first move, a slight twitch then they were off. 

They flashed through hand signs and chakra seemed to erupt from the two. 

Hayato called out, "Storm Style: Multiple Fūma Shuriken!"

While Masahiro performed, "Storm Style: Laser Circus!"

Twenty Demon Wind shurikens composed of solely storm chakra cut through the air. They were met with laser beams which halted them. Hayato pulled back his hand and raised it, somehow the shuriken copied his moves and flew upwards. He then jabbed his hand in front and clapped them. The twenty shurikens became a single large one, bigger than the two combatants combined. Koutarou jumped to avoid the massive shuriken that dug itself into the ground and exploded. Hayato wasn't in the clear either, as the Laser Circus hadn't been stopped, but Masahiro's control over it was gone, he managed to dodge it with a forward jump, only getting burned slightly at his knees.

Beginning his descend, Hayato flashed through more hand signs and brought his hand up, storm chakra sparked in his palm. He flicked his wrist along with his whole arm, a bright laser of chakra beamed its way towards Masahiro, "Storm Style: Laser Beam!"

Masahiro's eyes widened, he managed pulled out two kunai to block the attack. However, the force sent him flying to the ground with a crunch sound when he met the dirt. Hayato landed on his feet and prepared for another move.

"Storm Style: Dragon's Wrath!" A large dragon made up of flowing water, coated in wind and with strings of electricity wrapping around its figure. Its eyes pierced through the obscurity. Much like a water dragon, yet composed of Storm chakra. It was much stronger and faster than its counterpart.

Masahiro gritted his teeth, he was being forced to go all out against a child, and he was  _losing_. "Storm Style: Reflective Surface!" He crossed his arms above his head and swung them to meet his hips. A trail of light followed his palms and a reflective surface blocked the view of Masahiro's face for Hayato, instead, he saw himself. Then his dragon bounced off the mirror and back towards its caster. Hayato muttered a " _fuck..._ " then jumped to the side with his arms instinctively blocking his head. The dragon passed by him at lightning speed, it managed to sear parts of his arms.

' _Great now I can't blindly fire off powerful jutsus... Time for a strategy change._ ' Hayato thought as he planned his next couple moves and potential counters. ' _I'll have to catch him off-guard._ '

He threw a smoke bomb and pushed some chakra into the air around him. Spheres formed and he molded them into spears, then directed them at the cloud of smoke.

Holes gaped open as spears blindly flew out the other side, some scratched Masahiro's clothing and broke through the skin. The rest of the cloud was blown away by Hayato charging at him with wind blades. Masahiro smirked and shot out lightning from his hands destroying 'Hayato'. He heard a poof and got on alert again. He heard sparks above him, when he looked at the source, it was Hayato with his fist pulled back, covered in lightning chakra.

Masahiro couldn't move away in time, he took a direct hit straight to the face and went flying back. Hayato looked at his form as he slowly tried to stand up. The most he could manage is a slumped over form with heavy breathing and a closed eye. He closed his last eye and took a deep breath. Trembling slightly, his nose scrunched up in anger and his mouth turned into a deep scowl. He screeched, "Screw this! It's time we finish this!"  Barely managing to get out his sentences, his chakra was practically diminished. ' _I can't believe I'm using this..._ '  

"Fine by me!" Hayato couldn't agree more, he needed to finish the battle quickly, he and Masahiro were in the same condition chakra-wise. Though Hayato was burned a couple times yet Masahiro was worse for wear. His hands were somewhat burnt, he was covered in scrapes from rough landings and he was covered in more than a dozen small cuts.   

"Take this! Storm Style: Battery Barrage!" Masahiro screamed out as he leaped forwards, his feet not touching the ground and his dominant arm held back.

"Up close eh?! Fine, let's go! Storm Style: Tempest Towering Fist!" Hayato followed suit on Koutarou's jutsu, opting for a punch attack, he charged forwards.

The two fists collided as they screamed out each other's name, flashes of determination shined brightly in their eyes as they got in a single look of one another. All before a massive explosion blew them far apart. 

**(A/N: Basically the standoff between Naruto and Sasuke)**

Hayato fluttered his eyes open, an overwhelming sensation of pain and a wave of relief washed over him. He lifted his head as much he could without straining himself. He saw an unmoving figure, most likely Masahiro. A pair of legs landed next to him and knelt down to meet his eyes easier. Onyx eyes looked down at him, Itachi gave him a small smile then looked at their battlefield. The previous flat dirt road was covered in craters and had weapons sticking out of the earth. One of those weapons was his tanto, slightly chipped and scratched. Hayato saw the others land next to Itachi and give the sprawled out man a sympathetic look before Hayato closed his eyes and fell into a much-needed sleep.

* * *

As Hayato slept peacefully on Itachi's back after basic healing from Kaito, his breathing was soft and his chest rose with each breath. Akane was occasionally sparing a glance at the figure on their Taichou's back, while Daichi muttered something about, " _I'm on a team of monsters..._ " Kaito looked like Itachi, completely unfazed by the display of sheer power.

"Ano... Taichou?" Akane broke the silence, he looked back at her. "Where do we go next?" She asked.

"We're heading to the Wind Country. Our last target is there, though if Hayato doesn't wake by then, you'll be going alone." He advised them, "it should be an easy kill."

"Osu!" They chorused.

* * *

Hayato wouldn't wake up for another six hours, his chakra exhaustion forced him into the slumber he needed to recover what he lost. His eyes fluttered in similar circumstances, yet this time he was on someone back and the world around him was constantly moving. He groaned as he shifted in someone's back. 

"Oh!" Someone said, "taichou's awake!"

He saw crimson red eyes staring into his own, Akane was a foot away from his face.

"Back off a little, give him some space." Kaito scolded her, she pouted childishly and backed off.

Hayato scanned the surrounding area, unsure of where they were. Before he could ask, Itachi answered him, "this is the border of the Wind Country. You missed our last target."

Hayato muttered an apology and attempted to bow, only managing to burrow his head into Itachi's neck. He realized what he did and apologized profusely, his cheeks were tinted pink. Itachi didn't understand what he just did, though the rest of the team teased him for it. All he could do is look away from them.

 

He was let off of Itachi's back when they were half an hour away from the Gate. Hayato was thankful he didn't have to be on Itachi's back anymore, he couldn't handle anymore teasing from the rest of the team. They were running there when someone spoke up, breaking the silence.

"So Taichou? How did your battle go?" Akane asked, this time, it wasn't a form of verbal teasing, thankfully. 

"I assume I won? I mean I didn't see the body.  Wait, is he dead?" Hayato started to panic a bit. Akane gave a hearty laugh and assured him that he was  _most certainly_  dead, and how his final attack blew his enemy's arm off, along with the rest of the houses nearby. Hayato sighed in relief, but he felt bad for the destruction he caused, even if it was an enemy ninja stronghold. 

 "Ah look! The Gate!" Daichi pointed out excitedly. Kaito smacked over the head, "shut it. It's late." Daichi mumbled a ' _sorry_ '.

When they showed their ID to the guards, they all decided to go to the Hokage's Office to report. When they did arrive, he looked at them with a dumbfounded look. Hayato looked confused, then he remembered a small detail, that the mission was at least a week long,  _and they did it in three days._

Getting over his surprise, he took their written report, then let them give their oral report. He nodded in understanding and dismissed them. Akane went to go to her parents' house because of the fact that she destroyed, apparently  _another_ door. Kaito went home calmly and Daichi waved goodbye in full arcs. Outside the office, only the two captains remained, Hayato bowed slightly and thanked Itachi for carrying him for six hours. Itachi smiled a little and nodded, then gave a small bow and hand raise as a goodbye. 

Grateful that he was back home, he needed to check into the hospital.  _Oh no._


	8. Chapter 8

Hayato woke the next morning in a plain, boring room. 'A hospital?... Oh right.' He thought as he felt the wound he had the previous night. He shifted to leave the dreaded room then the damn hospital, he hated hospitals with a passion. He's the type of person that sends others to the hospital, not himself, even if he needed it badly like he did last night. Right as his foot touched the ground, a nurse walked in holding a clipboard. She gave a disappointed look and told him to get back in the bed, he needed more rest. Hayato grumbled but complied, not without slight resistance. The nurse had to push him back to bed, he didn't try to fight back, all he did was sit there.

Finally, when he was slightly sitting up in bed, the nurse listed off his injuries. It was bad, a broken collarbone, a concussion, numerous stab wounds and smaller cuts, and some internal bleeding. Though they were healed, he was still taken off active duty for a period of two weeks because of his concussion, as per Lord Hokage's decision.

'At least I'll get a break.' Hayato thought with some positivity, yet he was sad to not be able to go on missions.

Team Yata's first mission, a simple string of assassinations and interrogations. In the end, they got it done with minimal injuries, except for Hayato of course. The targets were dead and hardly put up a fight when they were alive, but Masahiro, Hayato's expression turned grim. He was someone who could have equaled Hayato, but he was dead, Hayato barely managed to come out on top in that battle and he would have died if not for Kaito. 'I should go thank him later.'

During the day as he laid in bed, bored out of his mind, a few people came to visit him. His team came to visit as a group rather than individually, they each had a couple of things to tell him, some nicer than others.

Akane scolded him for being "a complete fool" and "a reckless idiot." In exact words, then proceeded to hit him over the head with a magazine he had on the nightstand.

Kaito was glad he was alright, Hayato gave a bow as far as he could go with his restrictions in the bed as thanks for helping him.

Daichi brought him cookies and told him to get better, and that "we need our crazy taichou." He chuckled a little as his silliness.

Meanwhile, Itachi surprisingly teased him as he took a bite of a cookie, "I thought you hated hospitals," Itachi told him with a small smirk, Hayato glared at him and threw the nearest thing at him, Daichi's cookie that was in his mouth. Itachi moved out of the way and continued, "literal child's play." Hayato threw another one at him as the whole team laughed and Itachi left the room.

"Smug bastard..." Hayato muttered as he grabbed another cookie, they were really good surprisingly. Daichi gave a hesitant smile and raised his hands forward in a small gesture to stop, "you probably shouldn't eat so many..."

Hayato whined a bit, "leave me be! I'm stuck in this dreaded hospital bed!"

The room was filled with small conversations and laughter, Itachi eventually came back and hid behind Kaito's figure. They eventually decided to leave him to his devices, not that he could do anything, to begin with.

As Hayato was about to fall asleep, the door slammed open and out came Naruto, a sobbing mess that jumped onto the bed. Hayato wheezed a little as the kid hugged him. A nurse, not the one he had earlier, came in and scolded Naruto for literally outrunning a group of adults in a hospital. The usual glare people had on their faces when it came to Naruto was present on hers. Hayato gave her a look that could kill her if she stared back, she quickly shuffled out of the room with an apology.

Naruto had managed to calm down a little, his eyes were puffy as he wiped his sniffly nose on his shirt, 'I should give him a talk on basic respect.' Hayato thought.

"I was worried 'bout you, dattebayo!" Naruto cried out, his voice was close to breaking again. Hayato exhaled softly and patted his head.

"Don't worry about me, kiddo, it takes more than a couple hits to down me for good. You're stuck with me for awhile." Hayato reassured him and joked at the same time. Naruto wasn't complaining, for the first time, he felt an actual attachment, a bond between parent and child.

"Not that I want to be split up from you..." He muttered incomprehensibly, Hayato tilted his head slightly in confusion but ignored it.

"Say. When I get out of this horrid place, let's go for some ramen." Hayato offered, Naruto beamed up.

"Of course!"

"But first I need some sleep." Hayato yawned, Naruto started to yawn too, Hayato noticed how large the bags under his eyes were. It's like the kid hadn't slept in ages. He started to slowly rub Naruto's head and hum a short lullaby. In about half a minute, the kid was out like a light on his chest that supposed to be healing, but he didn't care. All he could do is fall asleep with him.

* * *

Sometime during their extended rest, which lasted about five and a half hours, Kakashi had dropped by for a bit. He left a "get well soon" letter and a bundle of flowers, specifically white daisies. He also managed to move Naruto from on top of the sheets where could've fallen with his tossing, into the bed without waking him up. 'Definitely a heavy sleeper...' He thought amused, he moved slowly out of the bed and got up onto his feet. He stumbled a bit and had to grab on the nightstand to stabilize. He stretched his legs out and then his arms, a couple of bone cracked as a result. He was thankful for being able to move freely. He called for the nurse and awaited dismissal.

* * *

The nurse came and dismissed Hayato, he picked up Naruto, who was sleeping like a baby in his arms, and dropped him off at home. He left another note for him to wake up to, he decided that this was the last one. He took a trip down to the Jounin HQ in the early afternoon, he had clearance for it thanks to his status as an ANBU, and decided to visit Genma Shiranui, a friend of his since the promotion. Though he couldn't see him too much because of how busy he was.

The way they met was... strange to say the least, Hayato was getting a meal in Jounin HQ, the special that day was pumpkin broth with dumplings. A twenty-two-year-old Genma was excited about his favorite meal, he was practically skipping there when he bumped straight into Hayato. Who at the time, had a bowl of soup on a platter, and the entire meal flew straight into his face and his vest.

All he told Hayato that day was "hmm, pumpkin broth."

From that day forward, they were pretty good friends, occasionally meeting up to talk, or even training together.

He walked up to the counter and showed his registration to the secretary, who had a skeptical look on her face because of his age. Her eyes widened slightly as she read the title "Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Buta." She relaxed a little and gave back the card, then he went further into the building.

He saw Genma laying on a couch talking to someone else with spiky black hair and glasses. Genma, with his signature senbon sitting on his lip, saw him and waved him over. The man he was talking to looked confused and look over in Hayato's direction. Hayato waved and walked over. 

"Yo kid! Good to see you." Genma told him, the other man was still puzzled why his friend knew a fifteen-year-old. 

Hayato looked over to the man and introduced himself, "I'm Hayato Harukaze, nice to meet you" He bowed slightly. The other man did the same, "Aoba Yamashiro, same."

"So what brings you here? Aren't you on duty?" Genma asked as he recalled the busy schedule Hayato had. He shook his head.

"Nah, I got a concussion on the last mission. Lord Hokage put me on injured reserve." Hayato sighed depressingly. Genma chuckled.

"That'll teach you to relax a bit." Hayato pouted, Aoba looked shocked.

"Wait, kid, what rank are you?" Aoba interrogated. 

Genma smirked a bit but looked away, Hayato told him bluntly, "ANBU."

All the conversations around him seemed to stop, it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Aoba stared at him for a bit, before bursting out in surprise. Genma laughed at his reaction, Hayato did a bit too.

"Wait a second,  _so_ you're that kid people have been talking about." Raido, someone who was in the same room as them and another one of Hayato's friends, pointed out. Hayato looked confused. He enlightened him by uttering a single word,

" _Hurricane._ " Hayato blushed in embarrassment, he hated the name with a passion. 

"Eh?! You're the one who scared off those Cloud-nin with their own moves?!" Aoba asked in bewilderment. Hayato hesitantly nodded. A couple people looked at him in awe, Hayato looked away. 

"I'd ask for a spar but I can't hit an injured person." Genma teased him a bit. Hayato exhaled loudly, "I can kick your ass even when I'm injured."

"I'd like to see you try,  _Hurricane_." Genma mocked him, Hayato walked over to his prone figure and flicked his forehead. 

"Urusai," Genma grumbled and rubbed his forehead, Hayato used some chakra for added force. 

"I'm gonna go find Kakashi, I'll see you guys around." He bid them goodbye with a raised hand as he walked away to find his previous captain. Aoba looked over to his teammate who was sitting up now and asked him a question, "why do you know children?"

"Don't think he's a kid if he can kick your ass in ten seconds flat." He told him seriously, Aoba narrowed his eyes at him. He seriously doubted that he'd lose to the kid.

"Not a chance." Aoba shook his head, Genma stood up and stretched.

"You know, he went toe to toe with Kakashi with his Sharingan active. He's an ANBU Captain" Genma was looking down at Aoba while he defended his kid-friend. Aoba was plain shocked at the development.

' _So he's an ANBU Captain, went even with the Kakashi, and has a stupid moniker? Even Genma is defending him, he must be good.'_ The spiky-haired male thought. He sighed and sagged his shoulders a bit.

"Remind me to ask for a spar later," Aoba told his friend. Genma chuckled softly, "if he has the time to. The kid is out almost all the time. Oh! He has a kid too now, for some reason..." Genma informed, this time, Aoba just collapsed where he was standing, he passed out from shock. 

Genma laughed at him and woke him up.

* * *

Hayato walked down the halls of the Jounin HQ in his civilian attire, a black turtleneck with long sleeves and the typical black ANBU pants, fitted with his weapon's pouch. He glanced at the Jounin roaming around, doing  _things_ , he didn't exactly know, no one was actively ready for a mission. It sort of concerned for a bit, then he realized that people need rest. Some adults gave a questioning look, as did the secretary, it's not every day you see a teen roaming the  _Jounin_ HQ. 

Then he spotted a head of silver hair leaning up against a wall, a book in hand. 

' _He's reading the damn porn books again..._ ' He sighed as he walked over to him, he greeted him with a "yo!"

"So you're walking around now. Good to see you on your feet," Kakashi gave him a closed eye smile. Hayato smiled in return. 

"Say, thanks for the flowers and for putting Naruto in bed." Hayato appreciated his help, he only nodded in return. 

"So, Hurricane. When will you be back on active service?" Kakashi asked with a grin that was spread over across his face. Hayato groaned and facepalmed, "not you too..." He muttered. Kakashi laughed at him.

"Gossip spreads fast around here, guess you already know that though." He said with sarcasm, Hayato playfully punched him in the shoulder. 

"I hate that name, it's so terrible..." He complained with some bitterness. Kakashi shrugged his shoulder,

"Welp, you can't change it now." Hayato slumped in his spot by the wall. 

"I'm gonna read some more, have fun with your 'issue'!" Kakashi gave him a terrible excuse to leave, ' _rude_.' Hayato thought, ' _he just wants to read his porn alone._ '

'Might as well go see Itachi and Sasuke. They should be coming back from the Academy right about now...' He contemplated, then nodded to himself and left for the academy. 

' _Oh shit! Naruto had school!_ ' He deadpanned.

* * *

After his terrible realization that he  _forgot_ to send his kid to school, Hayato walked towards the Academy. As the sun was slowly starting to go down, Hayato reached the street between the Academy and the Uchiha Compound. He saw the Uchiha duo in the distance, the smaller figure was waving his hands animatedly, while the other nodded occasionally. Hayato waved and called out to the two, Sasuke perked up at the sound of his name. He called out to him, "Hayato-nii!"

Itachi had a look of relief and surprise on his face, he was grateful for being saved from his overexcited brother, who almost an endless amount of energy like Naruto. Itachi walked over to Hayato who was patting Sasuke's head when he heard of his achievement. 

"How are you feeling Hayato?" Itachi asked, he watched silently as the said man walked up to him, and chopped him on the head. Sasuke called out to his brother and Hayato stuck out his tongue at him.

"What was that for?" Itachi asked lowly. 

"That's for earlier, bastard..." He retorted, referring to the incident in the hospital.

"Alright alright... I'm sorry." Itachi apologized, Hayato huffed, "you better be. I dealt with so much teasing today because of that damn name..."

"What name?" Sasuke asked innocently, Itachi answered but was cut off part way, "Hurri-" a hand covered his mouth and Hayato shushed him. Itachi took off his friend's hand. 

"Sorry Sasuke, maybe next time," Itachi told him as Sasuke was still waiting for an answer, then he poked his forehead with his pointer and index fingers. 

"Hmph." Sasuke pouted and rubbed his forehead. Itachi started to walk home with Sasuke in tow after he recovered. The older Uchiha turned to Hayato, who was standing there.

"Wanna come for dinner? I'm sure Otou-san won't mind." Itachi offered, Hayato declined respectively, saying that he had to wake up Naruto. Who most likely was still asleep even at this hour.

"I'll see you sometime this week Itachi!" He waved goodbye as the three parted ways. Hayato walked home in peace as the evening sun started to fall in the west. 

' _I'm almost through this damned recovery stage. Work here I come!_ ' He thought excitedly.


	9. Chapter 9

Hayato strolled down the dimly lit roads of Konoha. Hardly anyone was awake at this hour, except for those in the Red Light district. He reached his apartment and unlocked the door, then entered into the dark room. He went into 'his' room to check on Naruto and saw him still asleep, with the note still sitting on the table untouched. He picked it up and crumpled it, tossing it into the trash bin. Hayato debated whether or not to wake up the kid. 

' _The amount he sleeps has to be unhealthy..._ ' He thought in disbelief. He decided against the idea and grabbed another pair of clothes. He changed quickly and went into the living room, setting himself down on the couch. He laid down on the uncomfortable texture and spring digging into his back. He fell asleep slowly that night.

* * *

Naruto shot up in his bed, sweat slowly dripped down his face. ' _A nightmare, again..._ ' He thought shakily. Naruto couldn't his parent about all the nightmares he's been having recently, some worse than others, but all about Hayato leaving him,  _killing_ him... He knew that wouldn't happen though, but they kept coming. He slowly stood up from his place on the bed, waddled over to the living room and next to the couch that held a sleeping Hayato. Naruto poked him gently, surprisingly, Hayato shot up with a kunai in hand and got into a defensive stance. He realized it was Naruto, who was absolutely petrified.

Hayato sighed in relief and put the weapon away, hugging Naruto tightly. He started apologizing to him. Naruto calmed down a bit, Hayato glanced at the clock ' _2:37 am_ ' and asked what was wrong. 

Naruto backed up a bit and turned his head away, he muttered something that Hayato didn't pick up.

"Come on kiddo, tell me what's wrong?" Hayato asked softly. Naruto still looked away but answered a little more clearly, "nightmare..." Hayato's eyes widened in realization. 

"Want to tell me about it?" Hayato offered, Naruto nodded slowly. He proceeded to tell him about what would happen in every single one, how frequent they became after he left and how bad they got over time. Hayato's eyes softened up a little as he held his kid close. 

"Want to sleep with me? I may not be a psychologist but I can help you get over them. It's not okay to compartmentalize these feelings." Naruto looked at him with a confused look.

"compartenize..?" Hayato chuckled and corrected him, "compartmentalize, don't worry."

"Now come here," Hayato pulled him onto the couch, "you have school today so try to get some sleep, well more than the dozen hours you have already." 

Naruto complied and laid down with him. Slowly the two fell asleep again, Hayato slept with a lump on his chest again, while Naruto slept peacefully for the first time in a couple of days. He knew that with Hayato around, everything would be alright. 

**(A/N: Psychologist Gray on the scene)**

* * *

The two woke up a couple hours later, light from the morning sun rising from the east shone directly into the living room. Hayato nudged the figure that was laying directly on him, a small groan could be heard from his mouth. Naruto twitched a bit but snuggled his head into Hayato's chest. Hayato gave up trying to wake him up and decided to leave him on the couch. He carefully picked up the small boy off his chest and slid out from under him. He got up and placed him back down on the couch, tucking him in again.

He walked into the kitchen and started making breakfast, he wanted something simple, so he decided on an egg rice bowl. 

He steamed enough rice for a couple of portions, he knew for sure Naruto would want more than one bowl. Then he grabbed another pan and cracked open a couple eggs, he made them sunny side up for easy serving. Once the rice was steamed thoroughly, he scooped some up into a bowl, picked up an egg and placed it on the rice. Finishing the meal, he sprinkled a bit of pepper on top.

Satisfied with his creation, he called for Naruto.

"Naruto! Breakfast!" 

A loud thump was heard from the living room, then some shuffling. Naruto bolted into the kitchen and saw Hayato with a bowl in his hand. Naruto sparkled and took it out of his dad's hand. He sat at the table and began chowing down on the meal. Hayato smiled softly at his son and made himself a bowl. By the time he had made himself a bowl, Naruto was next to him sticking his arms out with an empty bowl in his palms, his eyes held a craving for food. 

Hayato chuckled a bit and gave him his bowl, to which Naruto accepted enthusiastically. Hayato made another bowl for himself and sat down at the table with Naruto. His son had yet to finish his second serving of breakfast. Hayato pulled apart a pair of chopsticks and muttered an ' _itadakimasu_ ' before eating. The two sat in a comfortable silence, the sole sound that fille the air was Naruto's loud chewing and humming. 

Hayato was grateful for this feeling of a bond between parent and child. He finally understood what his dad had told him when he was younger.

* * *

_Flashback (six years)_

_"Listen kid, there's something that you should know. It's about your mom."  Riku, Hayato's dad, got his son's attention. The child, a nine-year-old Hayato, stood over the grave of his mother, it said "Tsubaki Harukaze, a wonderful person, an even better mother"_

_"I know how you think it's your fault that she died, but know this," Riku started, his son was staring at him intently, " **nothing** is stronger than the bond between a parent and child."_

_"You'll understand that once you have a kid of your own." Hayato nodded with tear-filled eyes._

_"Come on now, let's go home." Riku started to walk away after he said his final goodbye to his late wife, Hayato did the same and wiped away his tears and started to follow his dad._

_He swore that day that he'd protect someone the same way his mom did with him. That was his ninja way._

* * *

' _I see now dad, this feeling. I want to savor it and nurture him._ ' Hayato thought with a tender look. He smiled as the two finished up their breakfast, he motioned Naruto to clean himself up and get ready for school while he did the dishes.

Once Hayato had finished cleaning up the kitchen, Naruto had just come out of the shower. The teen grabbed a couple of clothing items, leaving his ANBU uniform in a drawer. He left the room for Naruto to change. Hayato decided to wear a black jacket with white stripes along the bottom and a single one on the arms. He also wore dark grey baggy pants with his weapons pouch resting firmly on his left hip. His outfit screamed casual and out of commission.  

Naruto walked out with goggles on his forehead and his usual uniform. The two walked outside and locked the door behind him. The walk to school was joyful, Naruto was talking bouncily, with Hayato nodding and responding at the correct moments. The few passersby awake at the earliest hour of dawn gave them a glance, they were slowly getting used to the boy with somebody. Though they thought that he would've been abandoned by now. 

The duo arrived at school, a couple of parents were there dropping off their kids, once they saw them, the parents leaned down to their child and whispered things. Some looked at Hayato with hatred, others with confusion. All he did was give them a Kakashi-resembling smile, his eyes were taunting them all. They clicked their tongue in annoyance and looked away. 

Some of the people there that early morning was most notably Tsume Inuzuka and Shibi Aburame, the two heads of their respected clans. Hayato bowed to them and Naruto looked him confused. The two Heads nodded their heads in respect as well, they had heard of the boy's abilities and how feared he had become. All while adopting someone who was hated by all, though the secret behind the small boy was known to them due to their status as heads. They had only respect for the Uzumaki boy. 

Next to the heads were their children, Kiba, and his canine companion, Hayato hadn't learned of its name, clearly unsure of the gender as well. Along with Shino, a boy who seemed as reserved like his father and the rest of the Aburame clan. The heads motioned their kids towards the door and said goodbye to them. Hayato did the same, but ruffled Naruto's hair a bit, much to his displeasure. He waved enthusiastically as he ran into the school. 

After Naruto had gone inside the school, Hayato was gestured over by Tsume. He hesitantly walked over.

"Is something wrong Inuzuka-sama?" Hayato questioned respectfully. Tsume shook her head. 

"Aren'tcha a tad bit a young to be taking care of pups?" Tsume asked, her normal Alpha voice wasn't present. She carried the voice of a caring mother. Shibi was next to her, but keeping a small distance between them, undoubtedly avoiding a potential outburst from the loud woman.

"Some say that, though I believe age doesn't mean I'm incapable at raising a child who needs a parent," Hayato stated with confidence. Tsume looked at him, then a booming laugh filled the quiet air. She put him in a headlock and ruffled his hair. 

"Haha, not bad kid! You earned my respect!" Tsume's voice roared over everyone else's. Shibi nodded in agreement. Hayato looked away in embarrassment, though the headlock he was stuck in prevented him from moving too much. 

"Thank you Inuzuka-sama..." Hayato thanked her while rubbing the bottom of his head after being released from the lock. 

"Call me Tsume! Inuzuka-sama makes me sound old." Hayato knew that the lifespan for a shinobi was early twenties, but he knew better than to comment that she was, considering how she scared off her mate. Not only that, she practically beat her way to the top of the Inuzuka clan and became the Alpha. 

"Of course Tsume-san."

"Oh right! We heard about how you made a bunch of Lightning sissies piss their pants. Nice job!" She boomed. Hayato looked at her questionably with her vulgar vocabulary and a strange sense of humor. 

"Ah thank you. Speaking of that, I need to go to the hospital. I'll be going now," Hayato stated then said his goodbyes. "It was a pleasure to meet you Tsume-san, Aburame-sama." He bowed to them and made his leave. The two heads looked at each other knowingly. 

"Respectful that's for sure." Tsume stated, unusually quiet. Shibi nodded.

"He'll be a good parent for the boy." He added, he had spoken to the Hokage after a meeting was issued for the Heads regarding the adoption. They were asked to haze him a bit to see if he was ready and worthy to raise Naruto in place of his real parents.

"We should go tell Hokage-sama," Tsume decided and Shibi nodded again, walking towards the Hokage Tower.

* * *

Hayato was walking towards the hospital with a small smile on his face. The patter sounds of his footsteps on the somewhat empty street was oddly soothing. He looked up at the sky and saw all the birds flying around, free as can be. The way they flew around like they did, not a single care in the world, Hayato wanted something like that, maybe after retirement, he'll travel the world. That is  _if_ he makes it to retirement. He shudders a bit at the thought of dying and losing his family and friends.

It took something bumping into him to snap him out of his thoughts. He looked and saw Sasuke staring up at him, with Itachi close behind.

"Hayato-nii?" Sasuke asked curiously. 

"Going to school?" Hayato asks casually, Sasuke nods with a smile. 

"We're going to learn how to throw shuriken!" Sasuke beams, "where you going nii-san?"

"Hospital." Hayato tells him bluntly, Sasuke bursts out into tears, "no! Don't die!"

Hayato and Itachi look at the boy stunned, Itachi had to pry his brother off the older teen as they attempted to calm him down. 

"Don't worry kiddo, I'm getting a checkup, I hit my head on a mission," Hayato reassures him, Sasuke sniffles and rubs his eyes. 

"Get better!" He screams out and bolts to the school, Itachi deadpans and Hayato gives him a sympathetic look. 

"Hope to see you back on the roster later," Itachi tells him, Hayato nods and advises that Itachi should go find Sasuke. He waves goodbye and leaves for the hospital. 

When he finally arrives, with no more interruptions, the secretary behind the counter greets him. She asks if he has an appointment, he replies a curt 'yes'. He gives her his name and in return, she hands him a slip with a number and motions him to the waiting room. On the uncomfortable chair, he waits for twenty minutes until a doctor calls for him. 

The man in mid-twenties, black hair and a name tag that reads 'Doctor. Kenzo Masao' looks down at the boy. "Hayato?"

The boy in question nods in response. 

"Alright let's get this done, you should be ready for active duty today, if not, then for sure tomorrow." The doctor informs him, Hayato sighs in relief.

* * *

Hayato was free of off duty hell. The doctor told him that he had healed up nicely and he was one percent mission ready. He was  _this_ close to kneeling down and kissing the doctor's feet in gratitude. A slight over-exaggeration in his mind. Though now that was over, he had nothing to do for the next couple of hours. Maybe he could challenge Genma and Aoba to that spar he wanted the day before, or maybe find Kakashi for lunch. Then it hit him. Dad!

He hadn't visited his father in nearly three months, his life as an ANBU had occupied most of his time and rest days like these have almost never come around before. So this was a good of a time as ever.

He walked towards the outskirts of the village, a normal-sized house sat under a large tree. The sunlight was blocked out by the shade from the tree. He approached the door and knocked, a couple footsteps were heard on the inside and a twist, then the door opened. There stood a man, mid-thirties with the same dark brown and messy hair. The only difference was the height, facial hair and the actual structure of his face. Hayato had his mother's face according to Riku, he appreciated that because his mother was a beauty. 

"That you Hayato?" Riku questioned incredulously, Hayato nodded. He was quickly pulled into a hug and dragged into the house. 

"Tea?" Hayato shook his head. Riku shrugged his shoulders and made himself a cup. They sat down together at a chabudai and started to talk.

"So how's work?" Work referring to ANBU, "I've heard a few bits of gossip at the HQ about ya'."

"Oh, you did?.." Hopefully, it wasn't about that stupid nam-

"Hurricane right?" Hayato groaned in frustration, he couldn't tell him how much he hated that name. Riku laughed at him, "it is a pretty shitty name."

"So what brings you here? You're like your mother, almost no rest days. I can't see how or why you'd take a day off." He has his speculations but he guesses against them. 

"I had a concussion," Hayato told him, his dad had a look that asked ' _had?_ ', "I just got back from the hospital, I'm mission ready."

"That's good to hear kiddo. Try to be more careful next time." His parental act came out from his somewhat tough exterior, Riku would never admit this to Hayato, but he was a helicopter parent when the boy was younger. 

"I'll try dad." Hayato smiled full-heartedly. 

"So about your kid that you supposedly impulsively adopted..." Hayato paled a bit.

The conversation between father and son continued with a couple of teasing remarks, old stories, and advice on how to be better. Hayato was grateful to have him, he loved having these talks, he missed them for a couple of months. He would try to visit more often.

' _I should go see Mom too..._ ' Hayato thought when he saw a photo of his family, while his dad was getting more tea in the kitchen.


	10. Chapter 10

Hayato's conversation with his dad had gone as good as he could've hoped. The two conversed over simple things, how life was treating them, people they've met, etcetera. Hayato knew for sure that his father had the details on Naruto, and he just wanted to tease him a bit. Thus, when the question came up, his father acted exactly like he pictured he would, teasing with a shit-eating grin and a couple laughs at his son's, ' _horrifying but hilariously low impulse control_ ' as he put it. He looked away in embarrassment but his father was trying his hardest to contain his laughter while smacking his kid's back.

Though, when the topic of work came up. His father quieted down a little, Riku knew how the ANBU operated and how secretive the organization was, so he didn't pry into mission details. He did ask, however, how Itachi was. Riku knew of the boy because Hayato had moved out from the family home into his own apartment closer to work when Itachi first joined and the two became friends. 

The two kept talking until about early afternoon when Hayato said that he needed to go. Riku understood and nodded. He told him one last thing before his kid left, ' _bring the kid next time._ ' 

Hayato sighed at the memory, he was conflicted, to say the least. Part of him wanted Naruto to meet his foster grandfather, but another part was hesitant to see his dad's reaction. He had already found it hilarious that he did such a thing, but if he saw the actual specimen, it may be a different case. He didn't know what his dad would say truthfully.

He just hoped that Riku would be as accepting with Naruto as he was with the boy.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his office looking out the window with a pipe resting firmly in his palm. Two Clan Heads, namely, Tsume Inuzuka and Shibi Aburame, had entered when he was occupied with paperwork. Their entry startled the older gentleman because Tsume decided to literally kick the door down. He was currently sitting in an office with no door attached.

_Flashback (an hour earlier)_

_The Third Hokage dipped his brush in ink and started signing a paper for a potential trade agreement with a nearby port town. The instant his brush touched the paper, the door flew off its hinges and smashed into his desk. Lord Hokage sat there dazed, there stood Tsume with a wide grin and somewhat animalistic eyes._

_"The brat is good, we like him." She stated. Hiruzen tilted his head and then realized who she was talking about._

_Hayato Harukaze, the boy who adopted the Nine-Tails container. He had asked the Clan Heads specifically to "haze" the boy to see if he was fit to raise such an important figure in the village. Judging by Tsume's proud and excited voice, he certainly passed her test. Though he wasn't sure about what Shibi thought until he spoke up._

_"The boy displayed attributes I believe is fitting for a parent, he's responsible and has a keen intellect."_

_"He was also 'this' close," Tsume held her fingers slightly apart, "to fighting me for judging his parental capabilities." Tsume said with a grin, she liked a good fight, another reason why she scared her mate away._

_"Very good. Dismissed. Though, next time, open the door properly please..." Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose in slight annoyance._

He still needed to hear the opinions of the other Clan Heads if he wanted to allow the fifteen-year-old to take care of a small child. The boy was technically considered a legal adult because of his status as an ANBU, though physically, he was lacking. His intelligence was shown to be as good as a normal Jounin thanks to a mandatory test for all ANBU members. Hayato was certainly a prodigy. 

Fugaku Uchiha had spoken to him shortly after the meeting with the Heads was over. Fugaku spoke of an earlier encounter between the two a couple days before, one where Hayato and Sasuke had first met. The Uchiha Head personally thought that the teen was very good with kids, and with a statement from Itachi, it backed up that theory.

All he needed to hear from now was the InoShikaCho Families and Hyuuga. Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza would certainly vouch for the boy. However, Hiashi was a different story, Hiruzen didn't know what the stern man would think of Hayato. 

* * *

That afternoon, Hayato was walking down the streets of Konoha, still trying to find something to occupy him for the time being, when someone calls him. 

"Hayato Harukaze?" The boy turned around and saw a man with long luscious brown locks. He recognized him as Lord Hiashi of the Hyuuga Clan. 

"Hyuuga-sama? How can I help you?" Hayato asked respectfully, completely aware of who he was speaking to. The man had a single bodyguard with him, and his posture and tone demanded respect.

"I'd like to spar with you, now if possible." He requested, not taking his eyes off the boy. ' _What's with all these Clan Heads talking to me like this?'_  Hayato thought, normally, they wouldn't associate with anyone not high-ranking. But now, they were practically searching for him.

"Of course..." Hayato sighed with half-relief and half-confusion. He followed the man into the Hyuuga Compound, it was similar to the Uchiha Compound with the traditional Japanese style homes. While passing by these homes, white eyes of the Byakugan stared at him, as if observing and analyzing his every move, even his footsteps and slight twitches. He felt uncomfortable but Hiashi was ignorant of the fact, most likely ignoring how the boy felt, it didn't matter. The only thing that did have some importance to him, was how he could deal with his enemies. Hayato needed to be able to defend Naruto if he were to be attacked. And being the Hyuuga Head and filled with pride, Hiashi believed that if he lost, Hayato was worthy of being the parent of the Jinchuuriki.

The three of them arrived at an open Training Ground between what Hayato assumed was the Main House, it had a large tree growing slightly off center and was surrounded by the walls of the house. On the second floor balcony, a small little girl watched with slight curiosity. It wasn't every day you see an outsider in the Compound.

Hiashi turned to Hayato got into a fighting stance, then launched at him with no warning. Instinctively, he jumped to the side, he knew what would happen if he were to be touched with the Hyuuga Taijutsu. So he needed to avoid that.

"Am I allowed Ninjutsu?" Hayato asked while pivoting a frontal strike. Hiashi responded with a 'go all out.'

Hayato backflipped until he was a couple of meters away from his opponent. ' _I can't allow myself to be hit with his Gentle Fist Techniques. But normal long-range attacks won't work. Great..._ ' Hayato groaned in frustration, the Hyuuga certainly lived up to their name, they were pesky and rightfully prideful in their strong abilities. ' _What if I repel his attack?.. That might work..._ ' Hayato had a breakout with a potential counter that seemed easy on paper but was extremely difficult to pull off in battle.

He imagined himself with armor on, one surging with electricity as he pushed chakra from all parts of his body. Sparks coated his form and he took a stance, ready to face a wide-eyed Hyuuga. 

He rushed at him with ridiculous speed and jabbed at him, it was barely blocked by Hiashi's arm. The Head skitted back a meter and a half, Hayato rushed at him again, not even allowing him to get the proper Hyuuga fighting stance.

Hayato jumped up with his fist reeled back and attempted to punch Hiashi. His attack was repelled by a sphere of spinning blue.  _'That damn Rotation... I can't even stop him from spinning.'_  Hayato gritted his teeth. He could potentially prevent him from hurting him directly but he couldn't attack against this defense. 

"Try again. Unless you can be faster than my Rotation, you'll never win" Hiashi smirked and spoke in a mocking tone. ' _Faster eh? Alright._ ' Hayato focused even more chakra into his feet and arms to the point where his body started to shine. Hiashi smirk fell off his face and was replaced by surprise. 

"Did you know? The visible part of lightning is only a third of the speed of light? Let's see if that Rotation of yours can keep up."

The second Hiashi lifted a finger to start spinning, Hayato flashed in front of him and decked him in the face. Hiashi had a rough landing but got up with a burned and broken nose. 

"Go on and rotate, I want to test this," Hayato ordered emotionlessly and disrespectfully. Hiashi hesitated but spun, blue filled the area around him. Hayato flashed again, this time, however, he slipped through the repelling force with almost no effort. He stood in front of Hiashi, constantly slipping through the chakra the Head was expelling. 

When he stopped his rotation, Hiashi stared in shock, his ultimate defense was penetrated.

"Give up while you can, I don't want to drag this out," Hayato told him, his eyes were also slowly filling with energy. Eventually replacing the brown in his eyes with a light hue. Hiashi refused, it would be dishonorable to the Clan if he gave up. 

He jumped to attack with an air palm from his right arm, but Hayato countered easily, it was if time slowed down for him. He moved to the side, grabbed the approaching arm and pushed him to the ground. Hayato held up Hiashi's arm and had one foot on his back. Then for an extra measure, he grabbed the other arm. Effectively pinning him down on the ground. 

Lord Hiashi sighed but yielded. Hayato released his arms and his energy form, whatever it was, and helped him up. Once Hiashi stood up and brushed himself off, black spots appeared in his vision, his knee gave out and he went from standing to kneeling. He struggled to keep his eyes open until he lost the struggle and fell forwards. The last thing he saw was Lord Hiashi's attempt to grab him.

* * *

Hayato woke up somewhere, he felt a somewhat solid surface below him. He tried to refocus but he heard voices near him. 

_"His body lit up light blue, then he started moving fast, faster than even my eye could track."_

_Lord Hiashi?_

_"Well we may another Flash of Konoha, but blue. How long was he in that form?"_

_Lord Hokage?_

_"About five minutes maximum."_

_What are they talking about?_

"Hayato? You're awake!" Hayato begrudgingly opened his eyes and saw Lord Hokage sitting at the end of his bed, with Lord Hiashi standing in the corner of the room. Right, he was in the hospital, again.

The last thing he remembered was beating down on Lord Hiashi, with some sort of special form. He had no clue how he managed that but it landed him in the confinement of a hospital bed.

"I think an explanation is an order Hayato," Hiruzen told him over his observations. The boy sighed but began to explain the events that occurred. From leaving his father's home to meeting Lord Hiashi on the streets, and finally to their spar. He made sure to include as many details on the fight as he could, especially what he had done to overwhelm a Hyuuga's ultimate defense. At least, he tried to explain it from what he remembered. Electricity practically flowing through him, he was thinking so much faster than before, his body moved quicker than he could tell it to. He remembered looking at his arms when Hiashi was pinned, lightning shot out in small bursts, it seemed to protect him with a mind of its own. Though the second he released it, it felt like he lost everything he had in him.

Hiruzen looked unfazed, but on the inside, he had alarms going off. A boy managed to recreate, in theory, the Hiraishin. Though without the necessary seals. He'd be a fool not to take a chance to develop and help grow a new Konoha Yellow Flash, with a color name change of course. Yet, he was conflicted, he saw the damages it did to the boy's body, he lost more than three-quarters of his chakra reserves in about five minutes, that damage has left him on bed rest for a minimum of a day.

He decided that such an ability would work, only with the necessary reserves. So he told Hayato with a serious look, not to use it again until he had larger stores of chakra.

The new " _Flash of Konoha_ " title would just have to wait a couple more years to be reclaimed. That is if he ever would take up the mantle. The name " _Hurricane_ " fits better anyway. Hiruzen smiled gently as he left the room. 

* * *

Itachi walked through the halls of the hospital, again. His friend was danger-prone and always found his way into the hospital, despite how much he hates it, especially the last few days.

He was about to start talking to the receptionist when someone called his name. He turned and saw Hayato out and about, even though he should be in bed. He raised an eyebrow at his restless friend, who just rubbed the back of his neck with a guilty smile.

"Mind telling me why you're here again?" Itachi asked emotionlessly, Hayato looked away guiltily. 

"I may or may not have beat Lord Hiashi in a spar..." He told him, Itachi looked unconvinced.

"That left you bedridden for an hour?" Hayato shuddered a bit.

"Maybe..." 

"What'd you do?" Itachi asked, slightly gentler. Hayato sighed.

"I shot out chakra from all parts of my body, it made me super fast and it let me get through his rotation." Hayato admitted, "but now I'm not allowed to use it."

Itachi looked satisfied, "wanna go for some dango? I assume you haven't eaten yet." Itachi inquired thoughtfully. Hayato smiled and nodded. The two walked out, ignoring the rushing nurse looking for the escaped teen. 

* * *

The two sat down in a booth at the Dango Shop, they ordered two sticks of Anko Dango and green tea. Once their order came, they were chatting animatedly, well one more than the other. 

"So when are we going on a mission? I'm out of hospital no-" Hayato started but was cut off.

"You literally just escaped without rest. Earliest, we'll start tomorrow." Itachi told him. Hayato slumped his shoulders and put his chin on the table, then groaned.

"Great..." He mumbled, Itachi chuckled then ate a ball of dango.

Hayato contemplated what he could spend the rest of his day doing. He needed to pick up Naruto in the mid-afternoon so he was free for a couple of hours. He couldn't train his kekkei genkai because of his chakra exhaustion, maybe he could practice his Taijutsu with someone. The question was with who though. Itachi might want to help, but he should probably ask.

"Itachi?" The boy in question hummed in response, his mouth was full of dango. 

"Wanna spar later? I can't use Ninjutsu but I need some exercise." Hayato informed him of his issue. Itachi finished up his dango and agreed with a ' _sure_ '.

The duo finished up what was left of the dango, left money on the counter and left the shop. They talked about potential ninjutsu combos between themselves and the rest of Team Yata. It was obvious that he and Itachi were pretty good partners, his wind can augment the strength of Fire Style Techniques. Plus, with his control over the wind, he can direct the attacks in many different ways. 

Though the time they've spent with their other teammates haven't helped them learn of their exact fighting style. Kaito was an Earth Style user, Akane was a Fire Style user while Daichi was a weapons user.

"I heard from Kaito that Daichi has a water affinity." What? That makes things easier for him in terms of working out strategies.

"That makes our team a good balance if we stay as a unit, our counters will be minimized," Hayato said while coming out of his thoughts. He was right on this. If the enemy had a Fire Style user, Daichi would beat them. If the enemy had a Water Style user, Kaito would beat them. If the enemy had an Earth Style user, it wouldn't be much but Hayato's lightning style could do some damage. If they had a Lightning Style user, Hayato's primary affinity could beat it out. And if the enemy had a Wind Style user, Itachi and Akane would beat them out. 

By the time Hayato's ramblings on team coordination and techniques were done, they were at Training Grounds 32. A small area at the bottom of a hill by a foot-deep stream. Hayato went by the water and stretched a bit. Itachi did the same then got into a stance. Hayato crouched slightly with his left leg in front a small distance and leaned back, his right arm was extended a foot over his left knee with his left arm bent and crossing over to his right shoulder. His mouth was hidden on the inside of his bent arm. His stance allowed him to spring forward from the power placed on his right foot and his hands were positioned similarly to animals with sharp claws. The stance worked well with two blades but he never tried it without them. 

They were about to start when someone arrived.

"You guys are fighting but you didn't invite me!" The person cried out. 

_"Shisui!"_

"Yo!" He said, sliding down the hill and waving.

"I want in on the training." He stated. The two combatants blinked a bit and nodded.

"Back to your fight now! I'll be the referee." Shisui told the two. They thanked him and got back into the same stances. 

Shisui looked at Hayato curiously, ' _I've never seen a stance like that..._ ' He shrugged off his thoughts and started the match.

"Begin!"


	11. Chapter 11

_Appreciate everything around you, before moments turn into memories."_

* * *

The second Shisui said go, Hayato sprang forwards using force buildup in his back leg. Itachi expertly dodged a punch from the front by tilting his head just enough out of the way. He knew that Hayato would attack first judging by the way he was standing, but he didn't expect him to spin and give him a hard heel kick. Itachi gasped, skidded back and clutched his stomach. He quickly adjusted himself and sprinted towards his target, jumping into the air and spin into a side kick. His attack clashed with a side kick from Hayato. Dust scattered around them from the force.

Shisui watched the battle intently from the sidelines, observing each and every single punch and kick. He made mental notes on their form and movements. Both to help them improve, and so that he can beat their asses later. During the spar he had with the fifteen-year-old, he wasn't fighting very seriously, and from what Itachi had told him, neither was Hayato. Apparently, the teen had leveled an entire street block in a battle with one of Kumo's best Jounin, to which he won. Using a kekkei genkai he hadn't he mentioned during their first meeting.

The body-flicker was determined to fight him at his best, but he couldn't now and he probably wouldn't get another chance for a while. The Clan was biding their time, they were angry and wanted revenge. Somehow, a thirteen-year-old boy and Shisui's best friend had gotten roped into spying on the village through his position as an ANBU Captain. Shisui had been ordered to look over the boy because of his strange behavior, none of which was present right now. It seems that he only acts distant and  _strange_ within the clan. Though he knew better, Itachi was fiercely loyal to the village, even more so than he is, he sympathised with the boy. 

Despite that, he still felt uneasy, he loved his Clan. He didn't want to do  _any_ of this, but if it was to stop a massacre, he'd do it. 

_(Though he'd never know that the massacre was the exact outcome)_

Shisui ended up zoning out about half-way through the spar, thinking back to a conversation he had the previous day with the Hokage and the Council. The three old people who were all apart of the First Shinobi War and still had a distaste for the Uchiha. One of them, in particular, stood out to him, he had bandages around his right eye and forehead. His name was Danzo Shimura, he stared at him as if he had personally wronged him previously. Especially when he brought the idea of using the Kotoamatsukami on Lord Fugaku to end the coup with subtlety. 

None of that mattered, however, tonight was the night. His plan was about to be put in motion. He needed to stop the overthrow and bloodshed, even at the cost of the usage of his eyes.

* * *

Hayato and Itachi laid there on the ground, panting and exhausted. Their spar went on for a good half an hour, filled with kicks and metal. Which was against the rules, but the two didn't care, they preferred weapons over hand-to-hand. Their sprawled forms were inverse to one another, their faces held a small smile. Shisui who had started to pay attention again after thinking of his grim future and laughed at their pathetic figures. He poked fun at how crazy they fought, especially for a spar. 

"Well, my turn!" Shisui grinned, Hayato paled and begged for a couple of minutes. The body-flicker laughed at him when the exhausted teen shot up in alarm. Shisui stood over him with his arms behind his head, his face had a genuine smile plastered on it.

Hayato fell backward onto the roughed up grass patch they were on. Itachi had closed his eyes to rest, managing to fall asleep, much to their confusion. The two were loud, even in the small altercation they had, plus it had only been a couple of minutes since the end of their match. The small boy was exhausted undoubtedly, Shisui quieted down and picked up his clansman, placing him where he was previously sitting.

Hayato sat up and groaned a little as struggled to get onto his feet. He stretched out and rubbed his sore legs. The teen wobbled over to the hill where his best friend was having a catnap and collapsed on the practically untouched soft green grass. Shisui did the same but with more grace, positioning himself on the other side of Itachi. Hayato looked down at the boy, peaceful but slightly disturbed, most likely having a nightmare.

Hayato looked over at his new friend with a concerned look, he sighed before asking quietly, "has Itachi been like this in the Compound too?" Shisui looked surprised, he didn't think Hayato would pick up on slight behavioral changes, if Shisui were in his place, he'd blame it on Itachi's aloofness. He didn't think that the two would be this close, at least close enough to notice tiny changes in his conduct.

Shisui exhaled deeply and nodded, he was stuck, he wanted to tell him of the Clan's problem but it was against his orders. "Yeah... There are 'issues' going on at home." Hayato didn't miss the slight frown when he mentioned the  _issues_ , he needed to know now. So he decided to ask, "what kind of issues?" 

Shisui shook his head, "it's nothing to worry about." Hayato looked at him with discontent and retorted. 

"Considering how troubled Itachi is over this, I'm pretty sure this is a big deal." His tone was sharp and almost angry, Shisui jumped a bit. 

"I'd tell you but I ca-" Shisui starts but gets cut off.

"The Uchiha are planning something, aren't they?" He realizes. Shisui's eyes widen to the size of plates and he stutters out a ' _how_?'

"I saw the looks they gave me when I came into the Compound a few days ago, plus I know about the history between them and the Village. Being pushed to the outskirts and everything. It's probably an overthrow or something," he looked at the sky then back at Shisui, seeing his face assured his belief. Hayato murmured a curse under his breath.

"Can I have some details at least? I figured out the problem on my own." Hayato asks him discreetly, he looked around and made sure there was nobody around to listen in.

_'This kid is perceptive and curious. This curiosity will get him killed...'_ Shisui thought. He realized the problem with only a little bit of data and his knowledge on Itachi. The older Uchiha had to make sure that none of the Elders found out about this, or else they could be tried for treason.

Shisui sighed and gave him a watered down version of what was gonna happen that very day. He was to enter the office of Fugaku Uchiha and place him under a Genjutsu, including the spy they planted in the ANBU, Itachi. While under its effects, the Leader would cancel the plans of the coup d'etat. Thus ending the problem without any blood spilled. 

"You know that even if the coup is stopped now, there's a chance it might occur again in the future?" Hayato pointed out, the Uchiha were stubborn and they wanted what they wanted. Judging by how the other branch family Uchihas acted, they wanted power and control over the Village. He wasn't sure how long they've been planning this but it needed to be stopped. 

"Hopefully not," Shisui said slightly dejected, the two sat in silence before a stir broke the stillness. Itachi moved onto his shoulder in his sleep and began trembling a bit, Hayato placed a hand on his upper arm to reassure him. The shaking in the boy stopped and his body eased up, going back to nap in peace. Hayato chortled a bit and Shisui looked stupefied, his eyes were blinking rapidly as he tried to understand what just happened.

"Wha-what?!" Shisui stammered out finally after regaining his composure.

"He's like a cat..." Hayato muttered under his breath while watching the small boy curl up into a ball. The Body-Flicker watched his best friend with a strange look. He didn't think Itachi would do something like this, especially around others. From what he's seen at the main household, he doesn't even take naps around his family, let alone his friends. He doesn't know much of his friend's and Hayato's relationship, but seeing how Itachi is right now, it's clear to him. They're  _close_ , as in  _sibling close_. He didn't think Itachi would make another friendship like that, the boy was always reserved and anti-social. He's glad that the young Uchiha is starting to open up.

"Do we wake him up?" Shisui asks finally, he genuinely didn't know what to do. This sort of thing never happened.

"I mean if we're going to spar for a bit then he'll get woken up," Hayato informed with a half excited, half nervous tone. Shisui noticed his excitement and threw his head back then chuckled. 

"Short one, I need some rest for later," Shisui told him as he stood up and stretched a bit, he walked over to the edge of the stream. He motioned the teen over and got into a fighting stance. 

Hayato picked up a small stone and tossed it into the air over the small stream. The two stood ready, waiting for the small object to meet the surface of the small lake. The second the rock hit the water, small waves rippled around the impact area and the two teens flashed in front of each other. Shisui had his Sharingan active, but Hayato, he -  _had his eyes closed._

_Somehow he was attempting to fight using only his other senses apart from his eyes._

Blow for blow, Hayato would match it. He'd duck at the right time, counter appropriately and even strike first on the odd occasion. He still wasn't fighting at his fullest, however, neither was Shisui but he couldn't even he wanted to. His chakra reserves were still recharging from his last fight, where he somehow managed to run dry in about a three minutes. On the plus side, he came on top in that fight, against Hiashi Hyuga of all people. The prideful Hyuga had to tone down their strength fulfillment. Their leader, the strongest member, had been taken down by a teenager. That was a direct blow to them.

"How are you doing this?" Shisui asked, more like demanded judging by the small strain in his voice, all while leaning back to dodge a kick. Hayato laughed and told him ' _senses_ '.  

Shisui realized it, ' _so he's a sensor then._ ' 

* * *

Itachi heard small noises around him, it sounded like people talking. He vaguely made out what they were saying. 

_"can I have some details at least?"_

_"there's a chance it might occur again in the future?"_

_"Hopefully not."_

Itachi heard those voices before, _'Shisui and Hayato? What are they talking about?'_

He didn't get an answer before he dozed off again.

He woke up again, this time fully at the sounds of combat, instinctively, he grabbed a kunai. Then he sat up and saw Shisui and Hayato sparring. Shisui had his Sharingan on, while Hayato had his eyes closed. ' _What?_ ' was the first thing that went through his head. He kept watching as the two drew closer to the end of their fight. Hayato kicked Shisui in the chest. Shisui hits Hayato with a right hook. Rinse and repeat, but with different techniques. In the end, neither of them won. Shisui groaned a little and said, "so much for short..."

Hayato laughed and then noticed Itachi sitting upright. He tiredly waved at him and called out to him excitedly, the only thing showing his exhaustion was his body, nothing else. His eyes were joyful and his voice was enthusiastic. 

"Sleeping beauty is awake!" He called out to Shisui, who's head perked up at the nickname and looked at Itachi. Shisui gave him a cheeky grin, obviously making fun of him for falling asleep right there and then.

"When did I fall asleep?" Itachi asked carefully, directing the question at Hayato rather than Shisui.

"Like right after sitting down, you seemed pretty drained recently..." He muttered, glancing at Shisui. The older Uchiha looked away, while Itachi looked confused.

The three stayed in an uncomfortable silence, Itachi slowly starting to question the knowledge of his ANBU co-captain. He didn't think he'd know about  _that_. It wasn't possible. The only other person who wasn't the Elders that knew of the plan, was Shisui, the actual executor. Hayato was tense, he looked like he wanted to say something, but he was struggling with the words. 

Eventually, Hayato gave up, he looked at Itachi and started talking, "we need to talk."

"About?" The Uchiha responded. "This... Situation..." Hayato pointed at Itachi and Shisui, "I want some details on the Uchiha Spy business." Itachi's eyes filled with a look of confusion and shock. His face went back to normal in a split second. Hayato felt a tinge of guilt calling him out like this, but he needed to know if his best friend was on his side, and an actual friend. 

Itachi spoke up again, "I can't tell you anything, it's classified."

Hayato pointed to himself, "I found out about the coup on my own, I just want to know if I'm actually your friend or not."

Itachi looked hurt. His eyes were widened a bit, he exhaled softly and a small, almost unheard sob escaped him. He turned away and muttered something, Hayato asked him to speak louder.

"I am your friend." He said looking away and then shushined away, ignoring the calls of the other two. Hayato sat down again and put his head in his arms. 

"I'm an idiot, I hurt him," Hayato said, though it was muffled by his clothes. Shisui sighed too, put his hand on the teen's shoulder.

"He'll be fine, just apologize later. Alright?" Shisui told him softly, Hayato looked up and nodded.

"I'm going to go re-" Shisui started but he was interrupted by an ANBU, but with a hood on. ' _Strange_...' Hayato thought. 

"Lord Danzo requests your presence." The masked man said monotonously, then vanished.

"Well, I guess it's starting. Until next time." Shisui gave him a two-finger salute and vanished. Hayato sighed and got up, he needed to find Itachi.

* * *

Hayato was walking around the town, deciding to head to the first place the three of them had met. The edge of the forest where there was a small training ground. He felt a bunch of chakra signatures deeper in the forest, it was unidentifiable. Then he felt a surge of chakra within that group. Something wasn't right, he needed to check it out. But before he could get any further, a group of masked shinobi ambushed him. ' _Those masks! That's the same as before.._.'

He jumped over a barrage of kunai and demanded to know why they were attacking. None of the men answered and continued to attack. Hayato had enough and focused chakra throughout his entire body at once. Lightning danced around his form, he gripped onto his tanto and memorized their locations. Instantaneously, he flashed to them and they engaged in battle. Hayato's tanto clashed with multiple kunai, metals clangs were heard and tiny bits of sparks lit up the area.

The fifteen-year-old tilted his head as a kunai flew past his head, he turned and flipped kicked one. They flew back but managed to stop themselves. Hayato cast some hand signs, pulled his head back and blew. 

"Wind Style: Twister Tunnel!"

The kicked enemy couldn't move fast enough and was engulfed in the wind, being torn to shreds by the sharp winds. The remaining three jumped at him with kunai, attempting to stab him. They fell downwards and pierced the ground where he previously was. The 'ANBU' glanced around to find him. When they locked onto his position, it was too late. Hayato beheaded all three with a single swipe of his Storm Blade. 

The victor looked down at the dead ANBU, questioning why they attacked and what were they protecting. Then he felt that powerful chakra from earlier cut almost completely out. He followed it to its source.

* * *

Itachi was  _distressed,_ to say the least. He couldn't get what his friend had said to him out of his head. It was eating him, he put the trust of one of the only people he actually did trust on the line. All for the sake of a mission. Then the way he reacted after being questioned, the guilt and confusion in his eyes was crushing. He panicked and said that he was Hayato's friend. Not that he would ever believe after the breach of trust he showed. The one person he ever felt safe around didn't feel safe around him anymore. He felt tears prick his eyes but his mask blocked anyone from seeing it, not that anyone would be in the secret spot that he and Shisui had found. He took off the clay mask and placed in on his hip. He rubbed out the tears threatening to spill and put on his mask again. He heard some ruffling in the trees and recognized the signature behind it.

"Is that you, Shisui?" Itachi called out to the trees, "come with me." Shisui said and vanished. Itachi followed him to the edge of the cliffs.

"It's too late to stop the coup d'état by the Uchiha." Shisui told him, "if civil war breaks out in the Leaf Village, other nations are sure to attack... Which means a full-scale war." He continued.

"I was going to try and stop the coup d'état with Kotoamatsukami, but... Lord Danzo took my right eye... He doesn't trust me. He intends to protect the village is own way, no matter what it takes or how it looks. I suspect he'll come after my left eye as well. So I want to give it to you before he has the chance." He said while placing his fingers to his remaining eye, ripping it out of his eye socket and holding in front of him towards Itachi.

"You're the only person I can count on, my best friend. Please protect this Village... and the honor of the Uchiha name." He extended his hand out, giving him the eye. A crow, Itachi's crow to be specific, swooped down over the eye, took it and split into black feathers. 

"I accept it." Itachi said, his Sharingan active, "what will you do now?"

Shisui backed up to the edge of the cliff, "if I die, several circumstances will change. I've left behind a note already."

"Wait, Shisui!" Itachi stepped forwards in a desperate call. Shisui told him off.

"Don't stop me, Itachi." Then he fell back, straight down into the ravine below. ' _If you're my friend._ '  

"Shisui!" Itachi cried out and tried reaching for his falling figure, to no avail. His friend fell to the bottom, his body never to be seen again.

"Shisui..." Itachi muttered and opened his eyes, blood dripping down his face, three spiraling curves around his pupil replaces his usual three tomoes. He had awoken the Mangekyou Sharingan, at the price of his friend's suicide.

Itachi fell to his knees and cried, blood mixed with the teardrops, he heard something land next to him. Hayato finally arrived and saw his form. Pitiful coming from someone like Itachi. His friend,  _friend_ , said nothing about it, and instead, he kneeled down next to him and hugged him. Itachi graciously accepted the embrace and sobbed into his shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> angsty


	12. Chapter 12

_"Understand the reason, then you'll understand the action."_

* * *

The following day after  _his_ death, his two friends were solemn. They carried a look of pure sadness on their faces wherever they went. They even showed up late for their ANBU meeting, both for the same reason, they were visiting the Memorial Stone and lost track of time. The duo was slowing turning into Kakashi with his late habits and visiting the Memorial Stone. The three other ANBU members of Team Yata were oblivious to Shisui's death, that included their relationship with the teen. Hayato and Itachi acted normal around them not to make them feel bad or to have them pity the two. For Itachi it was easier, his stoic nature complemented internal sadness, but for Hayato, it was  _so_ much harder. Every single second of the meeting took his strength to not burst out into tears and collapse onto the ground. He managed, however. Despite their efforts in concealing their sorrow, Daichi noticed that they were down, he didn't know the extent of it though. He offered to bring the whole team to Yakiniku Q, a barbecue restaurant that was run by the Akimichi Clan, who prospered on strength, family-style food, and very large portions. They politely declined, giving him an excuse saying that they had 'business' to attend to. Which wasn't a lie, Itachi had Clan matters to deal with, Fugaku-sama must have heard about Shisui and the note he left. Meanwhile, Hayato just wanted to be alone for a bit.

Hayato walked down the street towards his home, assuming that Naruto was home. He hadn't seen the boy in a while and seeing him would take his mind off this entire mess. He opened the door, said ' _tadaima_ ' and slipped off his sandals. Naruto ran to the doorway and jumped into his arms. The boy proceeded to tell him about his day at the Academy. The teen listened attentively, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upwards. He missed this, he was grateful for the boy, again. He made him feel somewhat better, he still couldn't get over Shisui's death just yet. The grieving process was slowly dissipating, but he was healing. Naruto's enthusiasm made sure of that. He laughed at the boy's silliness after he fell back after standing on a chair, reenacting what he did earlier that day. Hayato still couldn't help but feel worried for Itachi, he was the closest to deceased out of both of them. His death surely hit him hard, if it was enough to make him cry, it must've hurt, badly. He was right, Itachi was practically broken on the inside. 

* * *

Itachi walked home after that meeting with his ANBU team. His mind was processing so many different things at once. He believed that the Clan couldn't be saved anymore, there was no more peaceful resolution to the Coup. He wanted to kill Danzo for what he's done, he wanted the old man to suffer. Against his better judgment, he shook that idea out of his head. He walked into the Uchiha Compound with eyes on him. Most were of confusion or of hatred. They most likely had reason to believe that Itachi was the cause of the death of one of their strongest members, and coincidentally, their spy on Itachi. Not that they knew that Shisui sympathized with him. He entered his home and was jumped by an overeager Sasuke. The two sat down on the porch and watched the sunset go down, talking about their day. He was interrupted by a call.

"Is Itachi here?" Someone called out from the front of the house. The ANBU captain walked to the entrance and stood face to face with three Uchiha Police members.

"There were two people who didn't show up at yesterday's assembly." One spoke up, followed by another. "Why didn't you come?"

Itachi stared at them then gave a small bow, "I understand. I shall be more careful hereafter. Now, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Alright." The first Police member said, followed by, "but before that, we'd like to ask you a bit more about something."

"It's about Shisui Uchiha who died after throwing himself into the Nakano River last night." Itachi looked at him with a glint of slight anger.

The second Police member started to talk, "and we, the Police Force decided to launch an all-out investigation."

"Investigation?!" Itachi said. The first Police member pulled out Shisui's note and gave it to Itachi.

"This is the will Shisui left."

The note said:

' _I have wearied of duty._

_As it is, the Uchiha has no future._

_Neither do I..._

_I can no longer follow the "path."_ '

The man who pulled out the note continued on, "the most talented of all our clan, feared as Shisui the Teleporter... He was a man who took on any mission for the sake of the clan."

The second man followed up by saying, "it's hard to believe that someone like that would kill himself leaving this behind." The third man glanced at Itachi over his shoulder. The man pointed at him, "anyway, we'll leave his will with you. Take it to the ANBU and request their cooperation in the investigation!"

"Understood..." Itachi said as they turned to leave.

"Let's hope we get a lead on this soon." The first man said over his shoulder.

Itachi was infuriated, his Sharingan was activated, "you all suspect me, right?"

The three Police members turned to him, Sharingan ablaze, "yeah, that's right. You little punk!" The second one spat out. 

In an instant, Itachi took down the three men. "You assume that I'm very patient and underestimate me. That's why you're here now, groveling." Itachi said, standing over their defeated forms.

"It's been six months since you joined the ANBU, but your recent words an actions have been intolerable. Just what are you thinking?" The first man said, slowly trying to get up. 

"Stop Itachi!" Someone called to him from his side, his father, Fugaku. "That's enough Itachi... What is going on with you?" He questioned.

"Itachi... You haven't been yourself lately," Fugaku told him. Itachi shrugged it off, "I'm perfectly sane." At that moment, he pulled out a kunai, feinting throwing it at the Clan Head, instead, throwing it at the wall holding the Uchiha fan emblem. The kunai pierced the center of the emblem.

Itachi looked down at the ground, "my vessel is dismayed at this foolish clan! Adhering to this clan... And petty things... makes you lose sight of what's truly important." He said with his Sharingan activated again. 

The three downed Uchiha got up and stood with their leader, one called out saying, "I've had enough! Taichou, give us the order to arrest him!" Itachi prepared for a fight. But he was stopped when his brother called out to him. 

"Nii-san! Please stop!" Itachi glanced over and saw Sasuke standing in the doorway. Itachi stops and gets on his knees, "the one who killed Shisui wasn't me. For all I have said, I am most sorry. Please forgive my rudeness." He apologized. Fugaku looked surprised, though he sighed and said.

"Recently, he's been worked to death by ANBU and is tired." The three around him cried out in shock.

"Taichou!"

"ANBU is a unit under the direct command of Hokage-sama. Even we, the Police Force, can't arrest someone without a warrant. Also, about Itachi... I will take the responsibility of watching over him." Fugaku defended him and gave a small bow. "Please!"

The others looked away and told the captain, "I understand." 

Fugaku walked away from the group and into the house, walking right passed Sasuke. Itachi got up slightly and turned to the doorway and his father's back, his Sharingan still active, turning into a Mangekyou Sharingan. This wasn't the end of his anger.

* * *

Itachi left the Compound and was stopped by an ANBU member with a hood. ' _ROOT_...' He thought, reminiscing back to Shisui who was attacked by the group and their leader. 

"Lord Danzo requests your presence." They said then vanished into the nighttime air. Itachi looked around and shuushined.

He arrived by the entrance to the ROOT HQ, where Lord Danzo stood with his cane and covered eye. They looked at each other in the eyes, not saying a single word until Danzo broke the silence.

"The Coup must be settled, and there are only two options. I've seen your opinions on your clan and believe that you are the best choice for this mission. Do you accept?" Danzo asked with his usual seriousness and hints of resentment. Itachi nodded and Danzo motioned for him to follow. They walked through the Underground Compound, Itachi watched the men in masks roam around, none speaking to one another. They stopped at a large door, Danzo pushed it open with Itachi following inside. For extra secrecy, Danzo placed down a silence tag, preventing any sound from escaping the confinement of the office.

"This mission is an S-rank. Sign if you accept." Itachi grabbed a brush and signed the scroll, binding his fate. Danzo hid a smirk.

"Now, the Coup can end in two ways. One, it occurs and  _every_ single Uchiha will be killed, with casualties on the Village's side as well. Two, we put them down before they can do any harm to us." Danzo had his hands cupped and placed in front of his mouth. Itachi stood silently. 

"The only choice is the Massacre of the Uchiha," Itachi said and Danzo nodded. "I'll do it under a certain condition, I want my brother to live." 

"That can be arranged..." Danzo informed him, it wouldn't matter to him. Itachi would die if he decided to do it alone, leaving the rest for easy pickings by his ROOT, along with Sasuke.

"It'll be done by tomorrow night. You best keep your promise, or there will be consequences  _Danzo_." Itachi looked at him with his Sharingan and then vanished from the room, no proof to show that he was even present, to begin with. Danzo grimaced but it slowly turned into an evil grin.

* * *

Tobi, as he called himself, was walking into the cavern with the Uchiha Stone Tablet to make an effort to read it when he was stopped by a voice. "Hey."

He turned and saw a boy, Itachi Uchiha. The two have met up a few times throughout the past month when he'd sneak into the cavern, and once when he murdered the boy's team. Itachi caught him once, by  _Tobi's_ intentions and they started to talk. He revealed how he was betrayed by the Leaf and sought revenge on them and the Uchiha. 

"There's something I want you to help me with."

* * *

"Tonight is the night," Itachi told him.

"Fine. I shall assist you as promised."

"I'm counting on you," Itachi said, Tobi crossed his arms and said.

"I'm going to help you annihilate the Uchiha because I have another goal."

"But I can guarantee that I will not kill your little brother. I have no use for a child without the Sharingan." He said. Itachi turned to leave but was stopped by his voice.

"If you need a place to go, come join my organization." Tobi offered. Itachi looked puzzled.

"Your organization?" He questioned. 

"I call it the Akatsuki." Tobi told the other Uchiha.

"Alright then, until then." Itachi vanished again.

"Very good..." Tobi said with a smile hidden behind his mask, a red Sharingan pierced the darkness of that the mask loomed onto his face.

* * *

Two officers stood outside the Uchiha Police Building on guard holding their weapons. The only sound was the howling of the wind and the occasional word between them. They were standing around until a man with long black hair and an orange swirl mask fazed in front of them. They immediately drew their weapons and prepared for an engagement. One of the officers asked for a name, but instead, was killed, along with his partner. None of the men inside the office expected it, a single intruder came inside and killed everyone. All in a matter of minutes. His name was not Tobi, but Madara Uchiha. Yet this wasn't the only massacre that night. 

* * *

Itachi stood outside the compound with his ANBU mask on his face and a drawn sword. He didn't want to do it, but this was the only way to stop a civil war. He sighed and entered, and as expected, not a single police officer was around patrolling. Tobi must have done his job well. He burst into the first house and killed a couple of young Uchiha civilians. He knew the two well, Seijin and Kiko, they owned a local bakery that he ordered from occasionally. They hadn't even heard him enter their home, nor see him behind them as he raised and dropped his sword. He executed them quickly and ended their pain just as fast. He wiped the blood off his Tanto and ran out onto the street, then into the next house. 

_Rinse and Repeat._ He entered the homes of every Uchiha civilian and proceeded to murder every single one. No one escaped his clutches of death. Some heard him enter and tried to run, yet failed. Only seeing the heir of their clan with a cold, regretful look in his eyes. On the opposite side, Itachi saw the looks of fear and dread as he chased and caught his prey. 

Itachi felt the blood of many, so  _many_ people spill onto his face.  _Innocent_ people, but they had to be eliminated, he couldn't allow the chance of them giving to hatred and attempting revenge. The only person he was allowed to keep alive was Sasuke, and he was going to complete the circle of death with fratricide. That was the only way of cleansing his sins to which he had committed. Then with his death, Sasuke would learn the truth and maybe move on with life. Or he could fall into the darkness that is the Uchiha's Curse of Hatred. He'd have to take the chance of that if it meant keeping his dear brother alive.

He ran down the street towards the center part of the compound after killing every civilian in the area. He was stopped by a familiar signature. His father stood there with his arms crossed and with a disappointed look on his face. Then instead of fighting, he flashed his Mangekyou and looked at Itachi. Fugaku disabled it and vanished, presumably to his,  _their_ home. 

He walked into the main house walls and into the house. He expected his father to be outside or at least to jump him somewhere as he passed the many rooms. But none of that happened. Instead, he was met with the sitting figures of his parents. Itachi asked why they didn't fight back, take revenge on him for the murder of their kin. Yet they didn't, they couldn't fight their son, his parents had told him. They made him promise them something, to protect Sasuke. Along with their approval of his strength, how proud he made them. It brought Itachi to tears as he was forced to drop the blade on his parents. Ending their lives and officially completing the Uchiha Massacre, all he needed to do was show Sasuke that he did it.

He left the bloody home of his childhood, never to return again and perched on a pole overlooking the street. He saw his dear brother running home from a late stay at the Academy, obviously oblivious to the death around him. His brother glanced up to where he was, but Itachi was gone. 

Sasuke entered his home and saw his dead parents, then he saw Itachi in the room, covered in their blood.  _Was it only their blood?_ Who knew anymore? Sasuke tried to attack him but failed miserably and was sent as a puddle to the ground, courtesy of Itachi. He watched helplessly as Itachi left. Sasuke barely got himself off the ground and tried to pursue the teen. In the street, they confronted each other. Itachi, instead of killing the boy, placed him under a Tsukuyomi, showing him the death of his mother and father, and the rest of the clan, over and over and over again. As Sasuke crumpled to the ground again, his elder brother taunted him, saying he was too weak to even bother killing, that this was a test of strength. Itachi made him want to get revenge, that strength was only obtained through vengeance, and to try and kill him. Those last words made Sasuke vow to kill Itachi, even if it meant his death. Revenge was his only goal in life.

* * *

Itachi appeared before the Hokage, deep underground where bridges crossed a large pit. The Uchiha murderer informed the elderly man about the Massacre and its success. Hiruzen felt remorseful but couldn't do anything now, what's done is done. The old man promised to cover his story and asked about his future plans as a missing-nin. Itachi told him about his encounter with the masked man and his Akatsuki. He vowed to protect Sasuke from Danzo if the man ever took advantage of the  _lack_ of Uchiha to stop him from getting to the boy. He left that sector with two more places to visit.

* * *

Hayato sat on the roof of his apartment, with Naruto successfully tucked for the night. He had received a letter from Itachi to be up there at this late hour. The night was quiet, too quiet for his likings. ' _What could he want at this hour?_ ' Hayato thought, fiddling with a kunai he brought with him. He tilted the blade slightly upwards and light from a lamppost clearly showed the reflection. Itachi was behind him. Hayato turned around to face the boy and asked what was wrong. Itachi looked at him, not responding. Hayato tilted his head, then the Uchiha let out a small sob. Hayato rushed over to him and grabbed him, holding him tightly in a hug. Itachi let out a couple more sobs into the fifteen-year-old's shoulder until he regained his composure and pushed away. Itachi looked him in the eyes, they were red, as if he was crying earlier.

What Itachi said next shocked him, he didn't expect him to take action like this. He knew that Shisui was supposed to handle the Coup, but with his death, Itachi had to do something. Hayato gritted his teeth, the village forced him to kill his own. Itachi did it like he was supposed to and now he was a criminal. Hayato resentment grew over the course of the report, specifically for Hiruzen's cowardice and for Danzo being a snake. Itachi looked at him and told him something heartbreaking, "watch over Sasuke for me. Goodbye Hayato, and thank you..." Then he vanished into the night. Hayato's eyes welled up with tears and they began to stream down his face endlessly.

"I will." He said to Itachi, knowing the boy couldn't hear him. Though, Itachi already knew he would.

* * *

Danzo heard the call from the Hokage to investigate the Uchiha Compound, only to see the corpses everywhere. Just like he requested. Yet that fool Hiruzen ordered the dissolution of ROOT. As he and two of his agents walked away, one stopped him and said that things didn't match up. Danzo glanced at the other one, who was glaring at him. 

Then they spoke up, "I witnessed everything." A Sharingan filled the eyeholes of the mask. "And I will continue to watch. If you so much as lay a hand on Sasuke, I'll spill every single secret this Village has to the world." Then he vanished in a swirl of crows. ' _Damn you Itachi!_ ' Danzo gritted his teeth in anger of being outplayed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New day in Konoha, yet some still weep for the past.

_"New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings."_

* * *

News of the slaughtering of the Uchiha Clan shook the Village. Along with a man from the very same clan had done the deed. No one could believe that he alone could kill everyone, not with their famed Sharingan. It showed how strong the heir truly was. In a single night, he killed every single Uchiha except for his brother, thus becoming an S-Class Missing-nin. The said boy was traumatized and still unconscious after two full days since the night of the incident. Meanwhile, a dispatch team was sent after Itachi, yet they returned a day later with no leads to him left. No one knew what truly happened or where he went, except for the Hokage and his advisor, Danzo.

Hayato sighed deeply as he sat on a rooftop outside the Konoha Hospital, waiting patiently for Sasuke to wake up. He knew that Itachi did something to the boy, but he didn't know what would put the six-year-old in a two-day long coma. He looked down over the Village and ran a hand through his hair. 

He had no clue what he was going to do with the boy. He most likely won't be allowed to take in the last loyal Uchiha because of his relationship with Itachi, and because of Naruto. Just getting the council of Elders, specifically Koharu and Danzo, to accept his position as a parental figure was difficult. But with the last Uchiha? That feat was practically impossible. The most he could do is try to guide and protect him from the outside forces.

The real question on his mind though, was how he could stop the young boy from trying to get revenge. Itachi said that his involvement in the Massacre and his status as a spy was classified. A secret only known to the Hokage and that damn bastard Danzo. He technically shouldn't know it, and Itachi wasn't allowed to say anything about it. Charging into the Hokage's office and demanding custody would throw him in a prison cell for the next thirty years. Something he didn't want to happen. 

All he wanted was a somewhat peaceful life, the best he could get in his career. Itachi just had to trample over it with giving him duties and an obligation. Hayato didn't actually have to take in of Sasuke, but he felt like he had to. 

' _Just great..._ ' He sighed again. He ignored the stinging sensation growing in his eyes.

* * *

"Where's Sasuke-kun? He's missing again today!" Some girls in the Academy whined. One of them, Ino Yamanaka, daughter of the Head Inoichi, practically started to interrogate their teacher Tsurugi. The man held his hands up in defense of the small rabid children looking for their "Sasuke". The teacher gestured for them to sit down, they pouted and slowly went back to their spots. He started to explain why the Uchiha wasn't present.

"Sasuke-kun has been in the hospital for the past two days. No, you can't visit him." He stated once he saw the way they looked and fidgeted. "Something has happened, you might have heard from your parents, but I suggest you don't talk about it." 

One of the students bounced up, "oh yeah! My dad's a chuunin and he said that somethin' happened with his clan." A couple of heads nodded. Tsurugi nodded in agreement.

"That is correct, Sasuke lost almost all of his kin to his brother, including his parents. The boy is in a tough spot right now. I heard he had someone trying to look after him, but the Council is against it for some reason." The teacher started to fix some papers on his podium. Voices rang through the room.

"Who is it?!"

"Why?!"

"We need to help him!"

"When will he get out!?"

Tsurugi's fist slammed against the hardwood and shook the stand, immediately silencing everyone. "Enough!" Tsurugi sighed and rubbed his temples.

"All I know is that he's a capable Jounin and that he's been a close friend to his elder brother for a few years. His relationship with the heir must have impacted their decision, for good or for worse." He may have left out the fact that the 'Capable Jounin' was actually fifteen and a parent to the Kyuubi Host. Who coincidentally is in his class, and somehow not yelling like usual.  Despite that, Tsurugi just wanted this to stop, he didn't want to have to explain the event of the Massacre to a bunch of six-year-olds. His job was to teach, not to traumatize.

He ended the questioning at that answer and started his class, regardless of all the complaining and protests.

As he taught basic Mathematics to a bunch of uninterested children, his thoughts drifted over to a quiet blonde. Naruto made a huge impact on his class, both livening it up and turning it into a warzone. Most of the kids avoided the boy because he was a 'demon' as the civilians rumored. But what Tsurugi saw, was a blonde ball of sunshine that could even liven up the day of a certain Uchiha. Much to the dismay of the girls of the class, who their teacher could almost foresee their transfer to the civilian school or even their life position as a genin, ' _if they last that long..._ '

Strangely enough, Sasuke seemed happier around the Uzumaki boy. They had a strange friend dynamic in class, everything was a competition. He wasn't sure he could even call it friendship at this point. It was more like an intense rivalry between two six-year-olds, which was hilarious to him. Yet it wasn't always like that, it only started once Naruto was adopted by someone.

This person wasn't a usual foster parent. From the rumors surrounding them, they were "incapable" of taking of a child. Whether that meant by age, job or physical ability. Though they were probably false, Hokage-sama wouldn't allow just anyone to take in the Jinchuuriki. They must be strong and capable of defending the boy.

Taking that into account, the parent and Sasuke must have some relation with one another. The two kids wouldn't just start talking randomly. Especially since Sasuke is an Uchiha and a top student, while Naruto is...  _not a top student_.

Tsurugi wrote down a problem of kunai drop distance and turned to the class for an answer. The majority of them were giving him a blank look. He shook his head and facepalmed. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

The revelation of the slaughter was surprising, to say the least. Akane had no clue what to think of it. One day, she was training and teasing a stoic Itachi, the next, she was hearing of his brutal efficiency in assassinating his brethren. She heard of the death of "Shisui the Body-Flicker", apparently he and her Captain had close ties to one another. Though, it was doubtful that the passing of said Uchiha was enough to push Itachi over the edge. 

If anything, why would the clan get murdered for it?

Another question the crimson-eyed lady had no answers to. 

The wind ran through her hair and caused it to drop down over her eyes. She pushed it out of the way with her fingers. 

All ANBU missions got canceled for the day and everyone was put on standby after not being able to catch the young Uchiha Captain. 

Her time got wasted laying down in the grass in civilian clothes. She felt odd being out of uniform and not having a single weapon on the person. She even felt bored! It was terrible, she'd always had something to keep her mind off the dreadful feeling. Whether it would be to bother Daichi and Kaito, or the odd missions. Now, her two other friends were gone off somewhere. Last she heard, they were apart of the first search party released to find the traitor. Yet with the return of most of the members, no news came up about them. 

Even her captain was missing. Akane was concerned for the teen, she had a good understanding of how their relationship. Hayato must be hurting like crazy right now, she thought. The duo of ANBU Captains was the youngest in the corps at the moment, were actually. That gave them a commonality, and even though the Uchiha wasn't very sociable, Hayato made a pretty strong effort to interact with his junior. Eventually, he broke through and they became fast friends. That friendship within missions was akin to a well-oiled machine, that well...  _killed people_. 

She stood up and brushed off any dirt from her clothing, and began walking off towards the market area. Shoving her hands in her pockets and moving with a slouch. People avoided her blank gaze as she aimlessly walked around the storefronts. Occasionally glancing at whatever was on the wooden shelves. A small bowl of anmitsu intrigued her, so she bought some. Stuffing her face in the middle of the street. She ignored the looks of others as they continued to avoid her. ' _Who cares._ ' She thought. If people wanted to avoid her, so be it. Akane didn't mind, she enjoyed herself. And if they had the balls to laugh at her, well she could just beat the living hell out of them. She chuckled at the idea and kept walking. 

The only thing that was missing was some alcohol, maybe it'll get her mind off the whole Uchiha business. She prowled her way to the closest bar with an intent to hassle a bartender.

Little did she know, that's where she'd find someone.

* * *

The silver-haired woman sat on a stool and waved over the bartender. Asking for the strongest cup of Sake they had. The man looked at her and shrugged it off, placing a cup in front her and filling it. She chugged it down and slammed it down in satisfaction. Next to her, someone took a seat and asked for the same thing she was having. She looked over and saw brown hair, almost her size. A few gears turned in her head and the lights went off. Right at her side, Hayato had picked up the cup filled with the strong alcohol. Oblivious to his teammate at his side.

She watched in astonishment as the fifteen-year-old downed the entire cup in seconds. He put the cup down and sighed, seemingly disappointed with something. He asked for another one, then another...

He put his chin on the counter and closed his eyes, a tint of pink was present on his face. 

Akane had enough of watching her captain drinking away his depression. She tapped his shoulder, his eyes shot open and he turned to her. His eyes widened slightly before glazing over from how drunk he was. He muttered her name in his drunk state.

"A-akane..." 

She took in his slumped form, it was sad to see. The usual straight posture he held and gentle smile that stretched across the width of his face, none of it was there. Replaced with a slouch that portrayed his depression, and a straight line instead of the curved smile. His expressionless face was concerning. Especially when he's shown all of them his abilities. His extreme strength that rivaled many of the strongest shinobi around. Hell, even Kakashi acknowledged him.

But now, he seemed... so  _frail_. As if a single word would make him burst out into tears. 

Akane wanted to do something, but she didn't know what. She hardly knew the boy from her time spent with him, it's only been a few days since they were introduced. She contemplated leaving him sitting there to drown his sorrows away, but decided against it. Akane knew that no one should be alone to deal with this type of situation. Then she remembered another detail. The boy next to her, despite being an ANBU Captain and seemingly invincible, was still a  _child_. A child that carried many burdens. His own child, a team, secrets, a friendship with a traitor(and a promise).

No teenager should have to bear these burdens. It was certain that it would break him eventually. And the Uchiha Massacre made the weight even worse, going from a boulder to what resembled the weight of the world. A small leak into a flood. 

She turned her body towards him and wrapped her arms around his pathetic form. 

He gasped unexpectedly before the tears began to fall slowly. He buried his head into her shoulder and continued sobbing. Small murmers of encouragement came from Akane, while Hayato muttered, " _Itachi why... why..._ "The liquid began to drench the shirt she was wearing. It was fine though if it made him feel better. She didn't mind, every kid needed a should to cry on. Even the strongest ones. 

* * *

Itachi stood atop of a cliff alongside the many Akatsuki members. He hadn't seen the masked Uchiha like he was expecting, but there was a man with orange hair and a Rinnegan. His partner was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, specifically Jūzō Biwa, wielding the Executioner's Blade.

Once they got their mission, they left, leaving the two alone walking towards their destination. Jūzō spoke up.

"Hey, ever hear of a man called Might Duy from your Village?" Itachi looked at him questionably and responded, "never heard of him."

Jūzō grunted in response, but he couldn't shake the feeling that came from  _that_ fight. The one that killed off more than half of his squad. The squad with some of the strongest Seven Ninja Swordsmen to ever hold the blades. 

Jūzō and his team cornered a small group of young shinobi, but before they got the kills, a man stopped them. Brandishing a terrible green jumpsuit like his son, who was also on the squad, allowed the Konoha team to escape. 

Then the sole man did something, Jūzō felt a spike in pressure and saw  _red_. So much red... He couldn't tell the blood of his team apart from the crimson red aura the jumpsuit man was giving off. 

He, Raiga and Fuguki barely managed to escape the wrath of man. With only Taijutsu, Duy was able to gruesomely beat the other four Swordsmen into the ground because of his raw strength.

Might Duy was only a Genin according to what his son screamed. Yet, the man's power was incomparable. Jūzō was surprised to hear that no one knew of the man. Duy deserved some respect at least. It just goes to show how some ninja are nameless, even though they don't deserve to be unknown. The sacrifices they made helped everyone else.

That was the life of a ninja, sacrifices.

* * *

"Damn it, they're getting closer. Prepare for a fight." Jūzō told his partner. They just completed a mission in the Land of Water, much to his chagrin. Now as they were escaping, some Hunter-nin caught wind of them being close by. Now a squadron was closing in quickly, and they didn't exactly need a fight. 

When they found a good position, they set up for the upcoming battle. Only to find out that the leader of the squadron was Yagura. The damn Mizukage and a Jinchuuriki. 

"I never expected to see you here again, Jūzō," Yagura stated. Jūzō scoffed.

"It's not like I wanted to come here. I had no choice." He told the Mizukage. 

"I'm taking the Kubikiribocho back, even if your partner is Itachi of the Sharingan."

"Guess that means a surprise attack with a Genjutsu is meaningless. Formation C." Jūzō informed his teammate. Itachi nodded in confirmation, then slashed Jūzō down the back. Sending the swordsman to his knees. Yagura looked at them in surprise before jumping away, seeing the Sharingan activated. He screamed not to look at the Uchiha.

Then Jūzō came out from the trees and attempted to cleave the young Mizukage in half. Yagura effortlessly blocked it with his staff. 

The water clone burst into a puddle, leaving the Hunter-nin in slight disarray. Then as a corpse when Itachi cut through them. 

Jūzō called out to his partner and Itachi blew a fireball towards his position. Jūzō jumped away and Yagura got covered in the yellow flames. Some of the shinobi called out to their leader but were cut off by the swordsman easily killing them.

The flames around the Mizukage dispersed and revealed a blood-red turtle figure.

"You two. I'll show no mercy!" The figure cried out, still sizzling from the extreme heat. 

"Tailed beast state?!" Itachi was slightly surprised, despite the stoic look he was carrying.

"Lord Fourth is a Jinchuuriki can control his Tailed Beast! This is  _not_ the Leaf!" 

The turtle launched at Jūzō and attacked him. He tried blocking but was easily smashed into a tree. Itachi threw some kunai at it, but a tail deflected them away.

In his sights, Yagura charged at Itachi and slashed a part of his cloak, even though the Uchiha jumped away. Then a dark pink substance started growing on him, effectively trapping him. The turtle Jinchuuriki attempted to capitalize and kill off Itachi. Jūzō barely managed to push away the Yondaime and free his teammate. The two turned to the Mizukage's position, seeing him charge up a Tailed Beast Bomb. The scarred swordsman tried blocking it but the blast sent the two apart, with Itachi crashing into a tree. The smoke covered the area, but the Sharingan-user saw a piece of the Kubikiribocho land in front of him. Though the rest was inside Jūzō, who was stuck to a tree because of the tip of his blade. 

"Run... Itachi..." He told him. The Mizukage was preparing another Tailed Beast Bomb. Itachi closed his eyes and then opened them, revealing his Mangekyou. Yagura was interrupted by black flames covering him, he screamed out in pain, "w-what is this?!" 

"What is this?" Itachi echoed, blood flowing down from his eye sockets. The Turtle fell to the ground and Itachi's eyes deactivated. The effects slowly filling his head with pain. He watched distantly as the black flames disappeared and left a defeated Yagura on the ground. 

"Jūzō!" Itachi rubbed his eye, trying to get a clear picture again. His partner was breathing heavily, "did you kill the Mizukage..?"

Itachi looked back, "no, he's not dead yet."

"Any last words for anyone?" Itachi asked his wounded partner. Jūzō grunted, "like I'd have anyone, idiot."

The defeated swordsman reached towards his broken blade, "I thought my only partner was this guy here." Referring to the Kubikiribocho. 

Soon, Jūzō breathed his last breath. Leaving only Itachi there, alone with no partner, again.

In respect for his fallen comrade, he picked up the remnants of the blade not inside the man and put it in his hand.

Then he left, not wanting to be caught by a patrol. He needed to report to the Leader. 

On the way back, he saw a figure. He looked harder at it, it looked familiar. The hair, body shape, all of it. It was leaning against the tree bark, smiling softly at him.

_Hayato_

Itachi's eyes widened, and he rubbed them. Seeing nobody when they were clear.

' _What the?.._ '

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, then kept running. He had a mission to accomplish, he didn't need to be distracted by what he lost. Even if he still wanted it back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some Akane and Hayato moments, the serious parts are getting started.


End file.
